In April, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced the School Guardian Act following the tragic school shooting that took place in Nashville. Now he is receiving more support for the bill’s passage.
The School Guardian Act establishes a block grant program that is managed and supervised by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to “provide full-time security at every K-12 school in the country.”
Citrus County Sheriff Michael Prendergast supported the national bill, stating that “it is vital that we take immediate action to protect our children and provide a safe learning environment.”
“As Sheriff of Citrus County, I have seen firsthand the importance of having well-trained, armed law enforcement officers in our schools to protect our students and staff,” stated Sheriff Prendergast. “It is vital that we take immediate action to protect our children and provide a safe learning environment. For these very reasons, I am expressing my full support for Sen. Rick Scott’s recent proposal placing a sworn law enforcement officer on every school campus in the country.”
When Sen. Scott was the Governor of Florida, he signed the controversial Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act (SB 7026), which raised the minimum age to purchase a firearm in the Sunshine State from 18 to 21 but simultaneously allowed school districts to strengthen security on campuses.
At the time of the introduction of the School Guardian Act, Sen. Scott mentioned that the recent events have “showed us that we need to do better.”
“Following the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, five years ago, we worked hard to make significant changes and establish measures to increase law enforcement in schools. Thanks to this work, and the landmark legislation we passed, every public school in Florida has an armed police officer, sheriff’s deputy, or an individual who has completed the rigorous training to keep our students safe from harm. The recent shooting of innocent children and educators in Nashville showed us that we need to do better to keep our schools safe, and that starts by bringing effective ideas like our Guardian Program to every school across our nation. These brave individuals are willing and able to step up and protect our kids and teachers from those who wish to do them harm,” said Scott.
However, current Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said that had SB 7026 come across his desk while he was in office, he would’ve vetoed it.
“There was a massive gun control bill enacted prior to me becoming Governor. I was the candidate, I was not in office, it was signed by my predecessor, and I said, if that had come, I would have vetoed it, because I thought that it was violating due process and I thought it violating people’s second amendment rights,” stated Gov. DeSantis months ago.
While Gov. DeSantis was not able to pass open carry at the state level, he was able to get permit-less carry done in Tallahassee.
