Florida is proof legislators can act after a school shooting

Once again, a town most of us have never heard of will be forever etched in our hearts – Uvalde. Once again, families are shattered, a city is in mourning and a nation is reeling from pain. Once again, a collective fear that nothing will change.

America, the most prosperous country on the planet, need not be the only industrialized nation where this happens — the cries of “do something” from tired Americans need not be in vain. There is another way. Florida is the model.

The bill the Florida Legislature passed in 2018, just weeks after the Parkland tragedy, was not perfect. It did not solve every problem, nor did it leave everyone happy. The majority who voted for it had real qualms with individual parts of it. Many Republicans who voted “yes” did not support the increased gun control measures in the law. Many Democrats who voted “yes” were concerned about giving school districts the ability to arm school personnel.

But the choice was compromise, or nothing.

Fortunately, enough policy makers found a pathway to yes. As Congress works through its own negotiations on a response to Uvalde, we believe there are a few lessons from Florida that might be instructive:

• Time Matters. The Florida Legislature was in session during the Parkland massacre, creating both the opportunity and the pressure to act.  The longer Congress waits to act, the more likely we are to miss the window. Bringing legislators to witness firsthand the carnage and destruction of this school was key — seeing it on television is not enough.

• Embracing a new way. The Florida bill was the art of the possible, not the art of the perfect. The legislation substantially increased funding for school safety, created red flag policies, enhanced mental health counseling, and gave local school boards the ability to decide whether to allow a limited number of trained school personnel to be armed on campus. The bill also tackled guns by raising the minimum age to buy to 21, instituted a three-day waiting period for background checks, and banning bump stocks. It was a true compromise.

• Bipartisanship led the way. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act was the collective work of Republican Gov. Rick Scott, Republican leaders in the legislature, and Democratic legislators who represented the districts where the massacre took place. No partisan package could pass — getting to yes required actual bipartisan cooperation. 

• The advocates — namely the parents — locked arms to support the bill. The art of politics is combination of giving people space to join your coalition — or in this case, cutting off space for someone to oppose. The parents understood if any of them spoke out against the reforms, that singular act could doom the bill by providing fuel to opponents. Despite their own internal political differences, within days after burying their own children, they presented a united front.

Advocates on both sides of the debate thought the bill either went too far, or not far enough – and these positions drove the opposition. But when the time came to vote, enough Republicans and Democrats set aside their personal opposition to pieces of the bill to do something, something most predicted would not happen.

For all the haranguing about the politics of an issue, not a single Democrat or Republican who voted yes in Florida lost because of their vote. No Republican lost for voting for the gun provisions. No Democrat lost for allowing school districts to arm school personnel. 

While we recognize it will not be easy, there is a pathway forward in Washington, if the courage exists to find an answer.

Today, there are several bills currently filed in Congress — from members of both sides of the aisle — that together could be the foundation of a package that would both keep our schools safe, keep guns out of the hands of those who would do harm, take meaningful steps to harden schools, and increase mental health counseling. Many of these proposals come right out of the Florida law.

The wounds from a school shooting are never surface level; these wounds permeate though all levels of our collective conscious. Healing these wounds and finding a solution takes time, patience and most importantly: bipartisanship.

But it is only going to happen if both Republicans and Democrats take a step back from their own talking points and find a solution that neither side truly loves — but one that can actually pass. The reforms in Florida are a roadmap, but the time to act is now: The window to get something done will close quickly. 

And sadly, if nothing gets done, we all know what is coming next.

Jared Rosenstein was the Legislative Assistant to then-Democratic State Representative Jared Moskowitz, whose district represented Parkland, Fla., and who was a primary driver for the passage of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act.

Steve Schale is a Democratic strategist in Florida who worked with the parents of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre victims on passage of the school safety legislation.