Parkland school shooting survivor Jaclyn Corin still carries the trauma from that day eight years ago.
“I remember what it was like to hide in the corner of my classroom. I remember who I was between. I remember the three hours that passed waiting for the FBI to come clear us out,” Corin said.
Corin and other student survivors launched the March for Our Lives movement, which advocates for stricter gun laws.
“Everyone understood that something needed to be done to ensure something like this would happen again,” Corin said.
The school shooting led to debates locally and nationally about gun laws. And Florida’s laws have changed over the last eight years.
After the shooting, then-Governor Rick Scott signed a bill into law increasing the minimum age to buy a gun from 18 to 21.
A red flag law was also passed, allowing courts to take guns away from someone temporarily deemed a danger to themselves or others.
But in 2023, state lawmakers eliminated the requirement for a license to carry a gun concealed.
And last year, a judge ruled open carry is legal in Florida.
These two recent changes don’t sit well with Corin.
“This is not the trajectory I expected Florida to take,” Corin said.
At the Florida gun show, they don’t allow private sales. All gun transactions must go through a licensed seller, and they have a concealed carry license course you can take on site.
Firearms instructor John Helms says you should still get a license, even though it isn’t required.
“Number one laws can change. They may go back on open carry,” Helms said.
“I like to travel with my gun. If I go out of the state if I don’t have a license I can’t travel to any state without it. With the Florida concealed weapons permit you can travel to 37 other states.”
Helms also says getting a concealed carry license can speed up how long it takes to buy a gun. He says if you have a license at the gun show, you usually can walk out with your gun the same day as buying it as long as you pass the background check. Helms says you could wait several days to get your gun if you buy it without a license.
The gun show’s general manager Robert Geisler says he’d like the minimum purchasing age to come back down.
“If you’re 18 you’re able to go Into the military. You’re an adult you’re able to carry a machine gun you’re able to sign your life away. If you’re an adult and you’re 18 you can go to the military you should be able to purchase a rifle,” Geisler said.
State lawmakers have tried passing a bill lowering the minimum age to buy a rifle down to 18 again. But it’s failed the last three years. This year’s version of the bill has passed the house, and is now in the senate.
