WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam says the keys to curtailing gun violence at schools are to improve the state's mental health programs and to tighten campus security.
The Florida agriculture commissioner told the Forum Club in West Palm Beach on Monday he opposed a state bill passed after February's Stoneman Douglas massacre that raised the age to buy a rifle from 18 to 21. He says suspect Nikolas Cruz's history of mental health problems is the issue, adding he "should not have had a gun at 18, at 21 or 51."
Putnam's main announced rival in the August primary, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, missed the event, citing a scheduling conflict. State House Speaker Richard Corcoran is also expected to enter the GOP primary but hasn't announced.
