Florida lawmakers polled on gun violence special session

Florida lawmakers will have until 3 p.m. Friday to weigh in on a proposal by Democrats to hold a special legislative session on gun violence.

Secretary of State Cord Byrd announced the timeline for lawmakers to respond to a poll about holding a special session.

The poll was prompted by more than 20 percent of lawmakers submitting letters of support. A special session would be convened if 60 percent of the members of the House and Senate back the idea in the poll.

Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, D-Plantation, wrote in a letter Thursday to Byrd that lawmakers must address issues of universal background checks, expanding “red-flag” laws and regulating high-capacity rifle magazines after mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas.

“Although we’ve taken bipartisan steps to address gun violence since the horrific massacre of students and educators at Marjory Stoneman Douglas (High School in Parkland) and we continue to do that work, it is imperative that we take common-sense steps to address the epidemic of gun violence that has led to mass atrocities in places like Buffalo, N.Y. and most recently in Uvalde, TX,” Book wrote.

Rep. Joe Geller, D-Aventura, wrote separately to Byrd that a special session is needed to address the issues. Such efforts to force special sessions on other issues have failed in the past.