Angry there’s not more gun control in Florida? Don’t blame just Republicans. Look in the mirror | Opinion

Here’s a provocative thought: If you really want to prevent elementary-school children, supermarket shoppers and virtually anyone else from dying like they did in recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, Buffalo, New York, and Tulsa, Oklahoma; if you believe government should make it harder for people to obtain weapons that cause large-scale harm, then stop electing the wrong people to represent you.

The problem is, many voters will do exactly that in November. They will have other things on their minds — the economy, taxes, a candidate’s name recognition or likability — when they cast a ballot.

Other issues are important but, as the cliche says, you get what you vote for.

Let’s be clear: A gridlocked Congress, the National Rifle Association and Republicans unwilling to compromise on even simple background checks aren’t the only ones to blame for the lack of gun-control legislation.

The blame also rests with American voters who support some form of gun restrictions, as polls after each mass shooting indicate, but then vote for candidates who refuse to even discuss the issue.

A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted after the Uvalde shooting found that 67% of Americans support banning assault-style weapons; 88% would require background checks on all gun sales; and 81% support requiring gun owners to store their guns in a safe storage unit. A 2018 Florida Atlantic University survey found similar results in this state.

Democratic lawmakers have filed bills to strengthen storage requirements and background checks in the Sunshine State only to watch them go nowhere in Tallahassee.

Single-issue voters

Take a page from the pro-gun movement and become single-issue voters — or at least put gun control in your top three.

After each mass shooting, liberals decry politicians who are “bought and paid for” by the NRA, but many misunderstand the scope of the organization’s power. Yes, money and lobbyists are important, but even with its financial woes, one of the NRA’s greatest strengths is its ability to galvanize voters around this one issue.

In 2017, gun owners and other Americans who support weaker gun laws contacted their elected officials more often than did non-gun owners and those Americans who wanted stricter laws, according to the Pew Research Center.

More engaged voters, of course, aren’t a magic solution. The U.S. Senate’s filibuster allows a minority to stall even the most moderate reforms. Red states, and red legislative and congressional districts, will probably never elect pro-gun-control candidates, no matter how vocal their constituents are.

But that elected officials continue to ignore public opinion and fail to do the bare minimum should be inexcusable for voters in a swing state like Florida. Yet we elected two U.S. senators and a governor who are unlikely to support gun-control legislation.

The U.S. House passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, which would expand background checks to include gun sales and transfers by unlicensed and private sellers. Eight Republicans supported the bill, including Miami’s Maria Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez, both representing competitive congressional districts. Miami Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who’s in a safer seat, voted against it.

But the legislation is languishing in the Senate, where there aren’t enough votes to overcome the filibuster. For as long as there are enough Republicans who’d rather stick to thoughts and prayers, not even the most simple of compromises will see the light of day.

We thought the 2018 Parkland shooting would be a sea change — and it did force Florida Republicans to support small, but historic, gun-control measures, such as increasing the minimum age to buy a weapon to 21. But gun control was hardly a factor in the elections that happened nine months later.

Floridians elected Gov. Ron DeSantis, who wants lawmakers to allow residents to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. Republican Gov. Rick Scott unseated Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson that year. Scott signed the post-Parkland law, but his office Wednesday said he’s “not working on federal gun legislation” and instead “is focused on how we can continue to make schools safe.” Scott’s main push is The Luke and Alex School Safety Act, which would codify a federal school safety clearinghouse. It was blocked by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

It’s a shame Scott won’t push for common-sense gun legislation (the same should be said about Schumer). School safety and gun legislation should not be mutually exclusive.

Days after the Uvalde shooting, Florida’s other senator, Marco Rubio, launched into a Twitter diatribe when a Miami Heat announcement inside FTX Arena urged fans to ask their senators for gun control. With the carnage of American children and teachers still fresh on our minds, Rubio’s attempt to change the focus to the NBA’s ties to China and its human-rights atrocities was as tone deaf as it was ineffective.

He’s running for reelection in November. So is DeSantis and a host of lawmakers who won’t budge on their opposition to gun control. Will you make this your issue at the polls, voters? It’s up to you.

Isadora Rangel is a member of the Miami Herald’s editorial board.

This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 3:57 PM.