Stunned by a horrific shooting at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead, the Florida Legislature is grappling with what to do in the aftermath.
Legislators have just three weeks left in their annual 60-day session. Normally, lawmakers are trying to wrap up work on a new state budget in the final days.
But the shooting Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland has revived an ongoing legislative debate about how to respond to gun violence.
Democrats want the legislature to take up gun control bills that have languished again this year, but Republican legislative leaders are talking about boosting mental health programs in Florida's public schools as well considering measures that would bolster safety on school campuses.
Gov. Rick Scott has said he plans to talk to legislative leaders in the coming week about what could be done to make it harder for people who are mentally ill to purchase a gun.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott says he'll sit down with state leaders and work on how they can make sure people with mental illness aren't able to acquire guns. (Wilfredo Lee/The Associated Press)
Senate and House leaders have also said they are willing to help pay to tear down the three-story building where the shootings happened and place a memorial on the site. It could cost up to $30 million to replace the school building with a new building placed in a different location on the campus.
Some Republican legislators wanted to consider a bill to put trained armed volunteers or school employees inside the state's public schools.
The Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to take up the legislation, but Sen. Greg Steube, the committee chairman, announced late Friday that the measure would not be taken up after all.
Steube made his decision after several top senators said they were opposed to considering the bill. Groups opposed to the bill flooded legislators with phone calls the last two days.
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