[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6754]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           FLORIDA'S GUN LAWS

  (Mr. DEUTCH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, my home State of Florida has some of the 
absolute worst gun laws in the country.
  Much like Congress, Florida's Legislature has done nothing to prevent 
violent criminals from getting guns. According to a report in the south 
Florida Sun-Sentinel, in just 1 year, Florida granted permits to 1,400 
people who pled guilty or no contest to crimes including homicide, 
assaults, and child molestation.
  There are Members of this Congress who want to burden the entire 
country with Florida's shamefully weak gun laws in a race to the bottom 
for gun permit standards. Even the current reciprocity agreements 
between States are strained by how easy Florida makes it to get a 
permit.
  In 2010, the Philadelphia Daily News found that 2,500 Pennsylvanians 
applied for gun permits in Florida. Nonresidents apply for Florida 
permits to take advantage of Florida's shocking failure to protect its 
own residents from gun violence.
  This Congress must reject legislation that would force States across 
the country to abide by Florida's or any other State's weak gun safety 
standards. Passing this reckless legislation would, unfortunately, make 
gun violence Florida's most shameful export.

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