Val Demings: “One of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle from Florida talked about the 1.7 million concealed weapons permits…”

“One of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle from Florida talked about the 1.7 million concealed weapons permits that are issued in Florida. Let me make it quite clear that those permits are issued to Floridians for Floridians, not to any person from any State at any time who wants to bring a gun into Florida. Different from my colleague, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to advocate for the safety of every American and for the safety of our first responders, who are entrusted with that awesome responsibility. As Members of Congress, our question should be: What can we all do to make living in America safer? Every day, law enforcement officers risk their lives to keep our communities safe. Last week, I was honored that the House passed the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act unanimously. Police officers have a tough job, and I think we can all agree on this point: the job is getting tougher. Mr. Speaker, we must ask ourselves: Why would any Member, Republican or Democrat, support this legislation that would make a police officer's job harder, more dangerous, and open our officers up to personal liability for simply doing their jobs? This reckless piece of legislation would allow persons from outside your State to bring their firearms anywhere, including school zones, without applying the guidelines, laws, restrictions, or oversight of your State. Mr. Speaker, I want you to envision this situation from the perspective of a law enforcement officer.…”