As a favorite to win the GOP presidential nomination in 2024 (if former President Donald Trump doesn't run), Florida governor Ron DeSantis has leapt to ingratiate himself with Republican voters.
Despite hailing Florida's 2020 election procedures as successful, DeSantis signed into law a restrictive voter suppression bill, and also signed legislation banning transgender girls from playing on girls' sports teams in public schools.
Now, DeSantis has signed into law a bill requiring at least one minute of silence during each school day to allow students to meditate or pray.
DeSantis said of the bill:
"It's important to be able to provide each student the ability every day to reflect and be able to pray as they see fit. The idea that you can just push God out of every institution and be successful, I'm sorry, our founding fathers did not believe that."
Now, Fred Guttenberg is calling him out.
The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas school in Parkland, Florida remains one of the most devastating mass shootings in Florida history. On Valentine's Day of 2018, a shooter opened fire on his fellow students, killing 17 people. Among those 17 was Jamie Guttenberg, a student at the school and Guttenberg's daughter.
After her death, Guttenberg made it his life's mission to pressure lawmakers to pass common sense gun law reform.
But with Florida growing increasingly red and the gun lobby retaining its grip on Republican elected officials, little has been done to curb access to assault weapons and other firearms in the state.
Predictably, DeSantis has actively hindered efforts at increasing the regulation of firearms, signing a bill last month that could force local governments in the state to pay up to $100 thousand in fines if they're sued for implementing gun legislation.
Guttenberg skewered DeSantis' new prayer law and his opposition to gun reform.
People shared Guttenberg's misgivings.
Some thought the bill was a legislative enshrinement of "thoughts and prayers," the useless sentiment after tragedies like Parkland that critics say absolves people of the need to take action.
Meanwhile, DeSantis' law limiting gun reform goes into effect on the first of next
@NBCNews/X
@donny_rover1879/X
@RealCandaceO/X
@joekent16jan19/X
