Republican Fla. rep calls for debate on ‘gun safety laws’

Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) during an interview on Sunday called for debate on “reasonable, common-sense gun safety laws” following a deadly shooting at a Florida high school.

“What we need is congressional leaders, specifically in my party, to allow some of these bills to come to the floor for debate,” Curbelo said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“There are a lot of Republicans who are prepared to support reasonable, common-sense gun safety laws, new laws, stronger laws that protect rights for responsible citizens, people who are responsible gun owners, but will prevent those who want to do harm to innocent people from obtaining these weapons,” he added.{mosads}

Curbelo also commended the survivors of the massacre in Parkland, Fla., for their activism and said he shares their frustration. Students in the past few days have appeared on media demanding action from Congress and criticizing lawmakers for accepting donations from the National Rifle Association.

“We’ve kind of inherited this world of binary choices where we either have to repeal the Second Amendment or have no gun safety regulations whatsoever, and younger generations of Americans don’t see the world that way,” the South Florida lawmaker said.

“And I want to represent those people and I want to get something done.”

Curbelo added that mental health and school safety must also be addressed.

“So this is a puzzle that we all have to work on solving. And yes, gun safety laws are a part of that puzzle.”