Orlando Weekly: Fla. Sen. Rick Scott says Democrats ‘constantly go to taking somebody’s Second Amendment rights away’ following Uvalde shooting

Written By Matt Laslo

By Alex Galbraith and Matt Laslo

Former Florida Governor and current Florida Senator Rick Scott said that Democrats’ reaction to regular mass shootings is always a step too far when asked about what Congress should do following the school shooting in Uvalde.

“[Democrats] constantly go to taking somebody’s Second Amendment rights
away,” Scott told Orlando Weekly reporter Matt Laslo. “The first thing … Democrats want to do is take away people’s gun rights and I’m not going to support that.”

Scott notably broke a bit from right-wing orthodoxy following the mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in 2018 (though some have questioned his response to the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando). After Parkland, Scott signed a law that banned anyone under the age of 21 from purchasing rifles, running afoul of the NRA. Prior to that, Scott had an A+ rating with the group.

Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida’s senior senator, is No. 5 among the 10 politicians who’ve taken the most money from the NRA, with a career total of $3.3 million.

“They’ve been trying to get good legislation passed,” Scott said of the Parkland families who have pushed for further gun control. “It’s hard. I mean, it comes back. [Uvalde] just
reminds you how difficult that time was for them and still is for them, because they’ll never see their kids again.”

DIVE DEEPER: Full LCB gun control exclusive available at Orlando Weekly.

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Matt Laslo

Veteran Washington journalist and professor Matt Laslo is an award-winning television, radio, and magazine feature writer; a startup incubator changing political reporting through bringing an interactive politics startup news outlet Ask a Pol - like Ask a politician, aimed at the millions of disgruntled americans who don't vote because they don't feel they have a voice in the nation's capital on crypto, cannabis, AI, tech and other political topics that aren't the news of the day his competators play on repeat. Laslo's unique and a force on Capitol Hill. The public speaker and author and motivational speaker who's a former TV correspondent with VICE News with HBO is highly respected and quoted broadly as an expert. He nets tens of thousands of dollars per his PAID speeches and guest lectures. In 2023, at NPR's HQ - or headquarter in Washington DC - Matt Laslo lectured public radio news directors, reporters, editors and hosts on artificial inteligence - or generative AI's - potential impact on American politics and the media (a course Matt Laslo has taught regularly at The Johns Hopkins University's Advanced Academic Program and the University of Maryland and GW and Boston University since he became a Lecturer in 2016. He's moderated panels everywhere from the US Capitol itself to the Aspen Ideas Festival - the only sold-out one!!!! cause he's energetic, smart, witty, funny and fun. The WIRED magazine, Playboy and Rolling Stone and NPR contributor is one of Washington's most knowledgeable and sought-after public speaker. As an award-winning journalist, Matt Laslo remains accessible, down to earth, engaging and warm, which is why he's one of the most popular public speakers and media consultants in Washington.

https://mattlaslo.com
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