Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics — 5.26.22

By Peter Schorsch

Good Thursday morning.

Dave Matthews Band was in Tampa last night. But after the tragedy in Texas, it just didn’t feel like a typical DMB concert. There were a lot of tears.

Thanks to Phil Ammann, Drew Wilson, Ryan Nicol, and Joe Henderson for really helping to put together today’s edition of Sunburn.

People sometimes call Florida the “Gunshine State,” and we indeed live in a staunchly pro-Second Amendment place. The National Rifle Association pays a lot of money so that Republican lawmakers will do its bidding.

However, some Florida GOP legislators bucked the NRA and incurred its wrath not so long ago. They passed a so-called “red flag” law in the wake of the 2018 Parkland massacre and endured threats and insults from the all-guns-all-the-time crowd.

But as we try to make sense of the latest mass murder of children, this time in Texas, it’s worth remembering what Florida’s law accomplished.

“That law has been used 5,000 times in Florida since the bill’s passage. It has prevented gun violence and saved lives, but it is limited,” Democratic Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith said.

However, none of that would have happened if Republican Bill Galvano hadn’t put principle ahead of politics.

This was after Republicans agreed just weeks after the shootings to raise Florida’s minimum age to buy a gun from 18 to 21. They enhanced security at schools and some other safety measures.

The red flag law — or risk protection order — is a game-changer. It allows police, with court approval, to temporarily seize weapons from people deemed at risk of harming themselves or others.

Before that law, police couldn’t intervene before Parkland murderer Nikolas Cruz carried out his bloody mission. He left a long trail of warning signs for what he intended to do. Seventeen students and staff would be alive today if the red flag law were in place.

Galvano was a pariah to many Republicans for standing up to the NRA. Some considered him a traitor when his political committee accepted a $500,000 from Democrat Mike Bloomberg‘s Everytown for Gun Safety gun-control group.

Donald Trump, Jr. told The Daily Wire that the last thing Florida needs is “a liberal, gun-grabbing Bloomberg minion.”

But the very junior son of the ex-President didn’t bother to tour the scene of the slaughter as Galvano did shortly after the killing spree.

“The shocking images, the horrifying feelings, the unbridled outpouring of grief and outrage — these are all still so fresh in our minds as we reach the sad one-year milestone since that senseless, heartbreaking day,” he wrote in a letter to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. ” I visited the crime scene just 48 hours after the shooting occurred, and I will carry that experience with me for the rest of my life.”

It’s one thing to see news reports from afar and offer thoughts and prayers. It’s quite another to see bullet holes and splattered blood up close.

Senators Tom Lee, Ed Hooper, Keith Perry, and Travis Hudson joined Galvano to get enough Republican support to push the law over the goal line.

We all know the government will never go door-to-door and confiscate every weapon it finds. It’s also more than a little disturbing that Gov. Ron DeSantis is a huge advocate for open carry with no permit.

He might want to rethink that one considering current events.

But there are many disturbed people out there. They crave a chance at notoriety by shooting up a school or a grocery store. Those sick puppies should never get close to owning a weapon.

The red-flag law works.

State Rep. Dan Daley, a Democrat, said it best.

Of Galvano, he told the Sun-Sentinel: “I think he’ll be pleased with his place in history when he looks back.”

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Markel Trial Day 8 — Wednesday morning began with Judge Robert Wheeler ruling on the admissibility of two State exhibits: a phone call from the undercover agent to the Adelson Institute, and a call from Charlie Adelson to the agent.

Prosecutor Georgia Cappleman argued that the call from the undercover agent to the dental practice served as an additional bump, intended to “stimulate more discussion,” which succeeded in doing so. The bump, she said, was “for the purpose of the ruse, as we’ve discussed before.” Regarding Charlie’s return call to the undercover, Cappleman noted, it resulted in his assessment that the “blackmailer” was actually law enforcement, and this assessment is discussed in later calls.

Defense attorney Christopher DeCoste argued against admission of these calls, saying they “are being entered for the truth of the matter asserted” and says this was clear to him based on the State’s questioning of witnesses the previous day. DeCoste argued that the State shouldn’t be able to play the calls, only to reference they occurred.

Wheeler’s response: “Both exhibits will be admissible.”

As readers would know, but this jury would not, a transcript of their conversation exists but was ruled inadmissible for trial by Wheeler. The subtitled version significantly reduces the effort needed to hear certain statements.

Click here to read today’s roundup.

“Dan Markel murder: State rests its case, wiretaps cross on Day 8 of Katherine Magbanua retrial” via Karl Etters of the Tallahassee Democrat — After days of testimony, prosecutors rested their case against Magbanua Wednesday. Defense attorneys will begin presenting their case with witnesses appearing Thursday morning. It is still unclear whether Magbanua will testify on her behalf or whether the father of her children, convicted Markel murderer Sigfredo Garcia, will testify. Closing arguments could come as soon as Friday, with jurors beginning deliberations the same day.

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According to a new survey released by Florida Atlantic University, Floridians are shelving plans to make purchases and trips amid the highest inflationary period since the Ronald Reagan administration.

FAU’s Business and Economics Polling Initiative found that nearly half of Floridians believe the national economy is in poor shape, and five out of six say addressing inflation and cost of living increases should be a top priority.

Respondents echoed those broad strokes concerns in several other economic sectors. More than 93% told the pollster they were at least a little concerned about rising housing costs, including 24% who said they were “very concerned.” Meanwhile, 91% said the same about increasing homeowners’ insurance premiums.

Some said economic issues were not mere concerns. They’re already having an impact on their day-to-day lives.

Nearly two-thirds of Floridians said they are cutting back on grocery spending. Cutbacks were even more common for non-necessities — 75% are driving less, 79% are traveling less, and 80% are spending less on entertainment.

A sizable proportion is also struggling to make ends meet, cutbacks or not. A full 58% said they were tapping into their savings to pay bills, while 38% said they’ve bill payments.

The FAU BEPI survey was conducted online May 20-22. It has a sample size of 532 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.24 percentage points.

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

—@JohnPavovitz: You have two choices today: hopelessness or resolve. Only one will save someone else. Choose.

—@Public_Citizen: Today is the 144th day of 2022. The Uvalde shooting is the 212th mass shooting of 2022. Gun violence is a public health crisis.

—@AdamCBest: Uvalde: AR-15 Buffalo: AR-15 Boulder: AR-15 Orlando: AR-15 Parkland: AR-15 Las Vegas: AR-15 Aurora, CO: AR-15 Sandy Hook: AR-15 Waffle House: AR-15 San Bernardino: AR-15 Midland/Odessa: AR-15 Poway synagogue: AR-15 Sutherland Springs: AR-15 Tree of Life Synagogue: AR-15

—@HWinkler4real: 50 Senators separate us from the simplicity of keeping our children alive

Tweet, tweet:

—@ZacJAnderson: Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, former Mayor of Parkland, recounting aftermath of Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting “You could hear the bloodcurdling screams of parents who were told their children won’t be coming home.” Said people are becoming “numb” to these tragedies.

—@JessicaBakeman: Broward schools asked reporters via email to avoid live shots outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS & to be thoughtful about the use of archival photos. “The presence of cameras reopens old wounds … Please consider how seeing images from that day affects our families and staff”

—@JaredEMoskowitz: I have an F- rating from the @NRA. So proud of the minus

—@RepMikeCaruso: No parent should worry if their child will come home after a day at school and no child should live in fear that a normal school day may be their last. I look forward to sponsoring the Florida minimum security standards for school construction act next year.

—@DavidHogg111: I’ve been working on this for four years and spent every day studying in college the history of how we got here, political science, behavioral economics, and reflecting on how we win. Mark my words. This time will be different.

—@HarryBoscheQuote: How did we put a guy up there bouncing around on the moon when things are so fucked up down here?