An ‘R’ After Their Name Doesn’t Insure Support for Gun Rights

Gun control shouldn’t be a partisan issue, but the reality is that Republicans are far more likely to support the Second Amendment fully than Democrats. That’s not universally true, of course. I know some pro-gun Democrats and I’ve seen way too many anti-gun Republicans in my day.

In both cases, they exist, but they’re the exception.

What that means in Florida is that gun rights should be something of a slam dunk. It’s not, despite the fact that Democrats are heavily outnumbered in both the House and Senate.

Yet with the legislator’s session over, what was accomplished for gun rights by the Republican supermajority?

What did the Florida Republican Supermajority-In-Name-Only achieve for gun rights this session?

❌No Open Carry
❌No Campus Carry
❌No Red Flag Repeal
❌No Bumpstock Ban Repeal
❌No 2A Sale Tax Holiday
❌No Under-21 Gun Purchase Ban Repeal

RINOs doing the Democrats’ jobs. https://t.co/rt69KuVDe3 pic.twitter.com/uIfdxgJhBH

— Luis Valdes (@RealFLGunLobby) June 23, 2025

Harsh, right?

Well, I know Luis pretty well, and I can assure you that he’s not one to pussyfoot around about how he feels when it comes to gun rights. He’s an attack dog for GOA in the Sunshine State, and it’s clear something like that is needed.

Seriously, there’s plenty here that shouldn’t have passed, but didn’t.

The post-Parkland laws were a ridiculous overreaction to an awful tragedy, but now that heads are cooler, they should be rolled back. The ban on long gun sales for adults under 21 should have, at a minimum.

I get that no one is getting everything they want in a legislative session, but the 2A tax holiday should have been the easiest sell of all, and they couldn’t get it done either.

This is Florida for you, though.

See, what seems to have happened is that a lot of Democrats knew they’d never be re-elected if they stayed Democrats, so they changed their party affiliations. Their politics, though, never changed. That includes opposition to gun rights.

They hide behind shields such as police groups supposedly opposing particular measures or things like that, but the truth is that they’re still just the same anti-gun lawmakers they always were.

The fact that they have an “R” after their name is irrelevant.

Because I live so close to the state line, I pay attention to the laws in Florida a bit more than I do in other states. I have more of a stake in them since they’re more likely to affect me than those in California or Oregon. Alabama is in the same camp, but they, at least, keep doing the right thing for the most part.

Florida, though? Not so much.

Let’s understand that while these lawmakers may not support new gun control legislation, there’s a big difference between being pro-gun and anti-gun control. There’s a place for the latter, particularly in anti-gun states. Florida, however, doesn’t need those. What they need are pro-gun legislators who will repeal gun control laws and protect the right to keep and bear arms by ending infringements.

These lawmakers who supported gun control in the past and now think opposing it is enough need to find out otherwise.

It’s up to Floridians to make that happen. The sooner they can start, the better for everyone.