TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Just days after a shooting at Florida State University claimed two lives and left six others injured, lawmakers returned to the state capitol facing renewed calls for gun reform on Monday. But with only two weeks remaining in the legislative session, what’s more certain than what will pass this year is what likely won’t.
Classes resumed on Monday, but for many students, the trauma of what happened last Thursday lingered.
“I mean, it's tragic,” said Faizan Sagheer, a FSU student. “It makes me angry and confused, and it's something we need legislation to stop, which hopefully will happen.”
Some lawmakers are echoing that sentiment. During a Monday press conference, they pushed for immediate legislative action.
“If we have the time to rename the Gulf of Mexico, we have the time to talk about one of the leading causes of deaths in our country,” said Rep. Fentrice Driskell (D), House Minority Leader.
This year Democratic lawmakers, led by Driskell, have put forward proposals to strengthen background checks, limit ammunition sales, and implement additional gun safety measures. Driskell also voiced support for a new idea from State School Board Member Ryan Petty, a Parkland father. Online, he’s advocated for laws that require locks on all college classroom doors—a protection currently mandated only in K-12 schools.
“House Democrats would support any effort,” Driskell said. “I imagine that any representative or senator, regardless of party, would do so because we want to make sure that we're keeping our students, faculty, and staff safe.”
With time quickly running out, it's unclear whether any of these measures will move forward.
Meanwhile, the shooting appears to have effectively halted efforts to repeal 2018’s Parkland-era reforms. Red flag law rollbacks had stalled even before the shooting, and a bill seeking to lower the firearm purchase age from 21 to 18 has yet to receive a Senate committee hearing—despite the backing of prominent state Republicans.
“Nothing's truly dead until it's dead,” said Sen. Jay Collins, (R) Tampa.
In late March, Sen. Collins remained hopeful the age-reduction bill would gain traction. He, along with Governor DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier, argue that Florida’s current restriction is unconstitutional. “
We have to stand up for what our founding fathers truly envisioned in the Constitution, and we call ourselves the Free State of Florida for a reason,” Collins told us. “We're going to keep pushing this.”
But with Senate committee meetings wrapping up Tuesday, almost all signs point to the legislation being shelved. Senate staff told us in an email… “By rule, the 50th day of session is tomorrow (Tuesday), and that will be the last day for Senate Committees to meet. The bills you mentioned are not on agendas for the remaining meetings.”
Staff also noted those agendas were published Thursday before the shooting.
It comes as Sen. President Ben Albritton has repeatedly told press he was leery of supporting a reduction of the purchase age, despite being a lifetime NRA member. Albritton said earlier this year he was mulling the risks.
“I’m working through that in my mind, because the most important thing I want to do is to do what's right, and certainly the most important thing that I don't want to do is make a mistake,” said the Republican. “So I'm thinking through that.”
Anything lawmakers fail to approve this session will officially die when the ceremonial handkerchiefs drop during Sine Die. Members could always return and try again during a special session — but it’s more likely they’ll seek changes during the 2026 lawmaking year, which is set to start in January.
