Even as our thoughts and prayers are going out to the Ft. Lauderdale shooting victims and their families, the Florida State Legislature is AT THIS VERY MOMENT considering a "guns everywhere" bill that would open up a long list of public places to firearms. Those places include Florida’s college and university campuses, county and municipal buildings, legislative committee meetings, K-12 schools and...airports. Yes, airports. The bill would furthermore seek to allow concealed weapons holders to open carry in Florida. 1.7 million Floridians are conceal carry permit holders, the greatest concentration of permit holders in the country. Firearm homicides claim 4.5 Floridians per 100,000, which is higher than the national average of 3.5 Americans per 100,000. With studies showing that states with weak gun laws have the most gun violence, Florida should not be weakening its laws further by forcing more public spaces to allow guns and by permitting concealed weapons holders to open carry. The tourism sector is a powerful voice in Florida and can influence state policy on gun safety. The Florida Commission on Tourism and other leaders in the tourism industry will not like to hear that weaker gun laws that lead to more guns in public places may lead people to start looking elsewhere for that perfect family vacation. Tell the Florida Commission on Tourism now that seeing guns everywhere would not help families feel safe and welcome in the Sunshine State.

December 14, 2016 For the third year in a row, gun lobby-backed legislators, including State Senator Greg Steube, are continuing their assault on public safety by introducing legislation that will change current Florida law and allow loaded guns to be openly carried in educational institutions, airports, bars and county and municipal buildings. These bills will also expand the scope of places where Florida's notorious "Stand Your Ground" law could be invoked. Together, we have stopped the gun lobby in the past. As we begin a new legislative session, your help is needed to secure a safer Florida. Help us stop SB 140 and similar legislation (like HB6005, which will allow concealed handguns on campus). Please sign this petition and share with friends. We will deliver all signatures to lawmakers in Tallahassee. Thanks for all you do. Andy Pelosi The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus

*****UPDATE: PLEASE READ***** We are currently waiting to find out the extent to which the language of House Bill 48 was "rolled into" Senate Bill 199 last night, another piece of pro-gun legislation. So far, it looks like we will be lobbying Gov. Kasich to veto SB199, not HB48. We will provide updates as soon as we have them. It is now more important than ever to sign and share this petition - the fight just got harder, and the stakes just got higher. ----------------------------- As students and residents of Ohio, Kenyon Students for Gun Sense, along with our partnered gun violence prevention organizations (Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence and the Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus) are deeply concerned about the potential consequences for our local and state communities if House Bill 48 is allowed to pass into law. By allowing concealed carry into such vulnerable areas as daycares, airports, school safety zones (while in a vehicle, such as while picking up or dropping off your student)and college campuses, as well as some state and local government buildings, HB48 makes Ohio a more dangerous and more at-risk state - not a safer one. Join us in expressing your opposition to this dangerous piece of legislation. In addition to signing and sharing this petition, you can call Governor Kasich's office directly at (614) 466-3555, and/or express your opposition on Facebook, or Twitter via @JohnKasich. When posting on social media, use the hashtag #NoSB199.

I care about about kids' safety, and and hope that you will join me in keeping Florida college campuses gun-free zones.

KHSD Trustees first voted to allow non-staff CCW permit holders, including parents, to carry guns on campus on June 27th. Then on November 17, 2016 they called together a special meeting under outrageous circumstances, where they approved a proposal allowing teachers and other school personnel to carry arms on campus. The public was given a mere 24-hour notice and the meeting was held at an hour which made it difficult for parents, teachers, and other community members to attend. Over the past few months, the public—including teachers, school administrators, parents, elected officials and retired law enforcement officers—have come out strongly in overwhelming opposition to these dangerous policies which threaten to harm children and add more lawsuits to the many the district is already facing. Some of the most vocal proponents in favor of these policies are firearms trainers at local gun stores. In an apparent conflict of interest, some of the non-staff CCW holders who were granted permission to carry guns on campus are members of a church in which former Trustee Chad Vegas is their pastor. They meet on KHSD grounds during the weekend. These policies have the potential to endanger children who rely on public schools, and they were passed by Vegas even though he has removed his own children from the public school system and has gone on record encouraging his parishioners to do the same. In December 2016, Joey O’Connell, the new trustee replacing Chad Vegas, will be sworn in. During his campaign, he told members of the local chapter of the California Teacher’s Association that having more guns at schools creates more problems. A new board of trustees creates an opportunity to raise our voices and demand that they rescind these misguided firearms policies. Permitting more guns on high school campuses is dangerous. Having ready access to guns actually increases the risk of homicide. This puts over 37,000 students at risk. Gun violence disproportionately affects students of color. The KHSD is a racially diverse school district with some campuses having ethnic minority populations of 89% or more. Additionally, this policy will increase liability costs. Increased liability will likely take general funds away from classroom instruction.

Destinee’s Pledge against gun violence & bullying was observed in schools October 24, 2016, a day to remember Destinee Ford whom was shot & killed walking home from school.

The deadliest mass shootings happen when dangerous people get their hands on military-style assault weapons utilizing high-capacity magazines. We saw it in Orlando when a single gunman was able to murder 49 people. These weapons are designed first and foremost to wipe out enemy combatants on the battlefield, not for hunting or self-protection. They should have no place in our neighborhoods. We can't wait around for the next mass shooter to strike. We need to act urgently to protect our people.

At Emerge America, we’re fighting to elect more Democratic women to stand up for the change we need to move America forward. Our board member and Moms Demand Action founder, Shannon Watts, knows exactly why we need more women in office: “It’s proven that women are more likely than men to support the kinds of legislation that Moms Demand Action promotes, such as stricter laws governing gun sales.” Where should we start? We start by closing the loopholes that allow stalkers, abusive ex-dating partners and people with emergency restraining orders to legally buy and own guns. It’s common sense.

Last week, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey took a very bold step by announcing that she will be stepping up enforcement of her state's long-standing assault weapons ban. Massachusetts is one of just seven states with such a ban, but for many years, the gun industry has been defying the ban by manufacturing copycat assault weapons that are nearly indistinguishable from the weapons used in Orlando, Newtown, San Bernardino, Aurora, and other mass shootings. There were 10,000 of them sold in Massachusetts last year alone. The NRA and its local affiliate are fighting back hard against Attorney General Healey. They've activated their national network of supporters to draft petitions and organize rallies. And they're flooding the phones of state legislators and Republican Governor Charlie Baker, who initially supported the AG's action but is now starting to cave to NRA pressure. In Attorney General Healey, we have a law enforcement leader who is willing to stick her neck out and stand up to the NRA. It's incredibly important that we stand with her. We encourage you to join this letter/petition.

There has been too much bloodshed so that it is time to make a change. I myself have lost a family member to gun violence. Innocent people have lost their lives because of this.

As seen by last week's events in Dallas, military-style weapons of war pose a threat to both police officers and public safety. We must ban more from being sold and regulate those in current circulation.

The Democratic National Committee has taken a very meaningful step by including a plank on gun violence prevention in the 2016 Democratic Party Platform. However, given misleading GOP efforts that PRETEND they want stronger gun laws, it is important for the Platform to be precise in its goals. Current language calls for expanding background checks, but is not explicit that they should be for ALL gun purchases. We must distinguish between universal background checks and the weak legislation introduced by Republicans in the House and Senate. The goal of keeping "weapons of war" off our streets mentions assault weapons, but omits large capacity magazines (LCM). Experts agree that banning LCMs would do more to reduce gun deaths than an assault weapons ban alone. The platform calls for keeping guns out of the hands of "violent" criminals. Our standard should be higher; no criminal should have access to firearms. Finally, the plank sets the goal of keeping guns from people with "severe mental health issues." The Platform should take care not to stigmatize those who suffer from severe mental health issues, the vast majority of whom are not violent and in fact are more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violent acts. The language should be modified to "keeping guns from those with severe mental health issues who may be a danger to themselves or others."