AMGOA Staff
Pennsylvania


Posts: 1,427

Florida's Republican attorney general is trying to scuttle a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban the type of rifle used in last year's Parkland school shooting, a move that comes as the state's gun control debate intensifies heading into 2020.

Attorney General Ashley Moody asked the state Supreme Court on Friday to block the ballot initiative, which is being pushed by Miami-based Ban Assault Weapons Now, a group that wants to ban most semiautomatic rifles. The group has gathered more than 99,000 certified signatures so far, enough to trigger an automatic legal review of the amendment by the state's highest court.

If organizers succeed in getting a gun control question on the ballot, it will inject another hot-button issue into what already is shaping up to be a turbocharged election in the crucial battleground state. President Donald Trump's key to victory in Florida, whose legislature and governor's office are controlled by Republicans, includes winning the state's 29 electoral votes again this time.

The amendment also could test the strength of the gun lobby in Florida, which had largely been successful pushing gun-rights legislation until the Parkland massacre led to the state's first significant gun restrictions in decades.

In a notice filed with the court, Moody said that the proposal as worded would ban "the possession of virtually every semi-automatic long-gun. To be included on the ballot, the sprawling practical effect must be revealed in the ballot language."

Moody also said that a provision that would grandfather existing owners of semiautomatic weapons is misleading because it requires owners to register their guns within a year. She called the amendment language "deficient" and said it would mislead voters.

https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2019/07/29/florida-attorney-general-moves-to-block-proposed-ban-on-semiautomatic-rifles-1121191