PARKLAND, FLA. (WSVN) - Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords joined Parkland parents during a South Florida stop as they continue ongoing efforts to help preserve steps made in gun control legislation.
The former Arizona lawmaker spoke at an event held in Parkland on Saturday. The 52-year-old opened up about her daily struggles after she was shot in the head in 2012.
“My recovery is a daily fight, but fighting makes me stronger,” she said.
Giffords met with families who lost loved ones in the Feb. 14, 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“We are at a crossroads. We can let the shooting continue, or we can act,” she said.
The group is critical of a bill currently making its way through the Florida Legislature that, if enacted into law, would remove the requirement of a license to conceal carry a weapon.
“We’re saddened to see that some of the legislatures have forgotten these lessons which are written in the blood of my daughter, her classmates and her teachers,” said Tony Montalto.
Montalto’s daughter Gina was one of 17 people killed in the MSD massacre. He said that in the days following the tragedy, lawmakes worked to make the states safer.
“Florida got it right, and we hope that they will remember the lessons of Parkland, the lessons of how to keep our community and our state safer,” saod Montalto.
The permitless carry bill is finding considerable support in Tallahassee.
“This bill does not affect the purchase process for a firearm. It does not push open carry; this is focused on permitless concealed carry,” said Florida State Sen. Jay Collins.
“We put a three-day waiting period for someone after they go and purchase a weapon between that time and when they receive it,” said Florida State Rep. Danny Perez. “The ability for someone who’s been Baker Acted to no longer be able to purchase a weapon, that all came out of the tragic event from Parkland; that does not change in this bill.”
Opponents at Saturday’s event, a group impacted by tragedy, made their voices heard.
“When you talk about proficiency, in the state of Florida, we require 600 hours of training to cut hair. If this bill becomes law, there are zero hours of training required to carry a gun wherever you’d like,” said an opponent, “and that should terrify every Floridian.”
“We all have to send a sense of urgency to whoever is watching this. This is an urgent thing, and it requires us to fight together,” said Manuel Oliver, who lost his son Joaquin in the MSD massacre.
They hope lawmakers won’t push the bill through.
“We can protect our families, our future, we can vote, we can be on the right side of history,” said Giffords.
The permitless concealed carry bill has cleared a Florida Senate committee and now heads to the full Senate.
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