Chris King’s proposal marks the latest political tremor in Florida politics that was rocked by school shooting in Parkland. | Daniel Ducassi/POLITICO King calls for sales taxes on bullets, firearms to pay for gun safety

MIAMI — As Florida Democrats unite in calling for gun control for the first time, Chris King has separated from the pack of gubernatorial candidates by advancing a new proposal that would use sales taxes from firearm sales and impose a new “safety fee” on bullet purchases to fund violence prevention and treatment programs.

King’s proposal — which comes on the heels of his new television ad campaign calling for an assault weapons ban — would establish the “Every Kid Fund” to pay for gun-violence studies and prevention as well as to reimburse trauma centers for medical costs incurred in treating victims of mass shootings.


That trauma-care reimbursement proposal was briefly part of the just-passed Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Safety Act, FL SB7026 (18R), as the Florida Senate debated the bill following the Feb. 14 massacre in Parkland that killed 17 and left 17 wounded. But Republican leaders stripped out the reimbursement language, which was opposed by the National Rifle Association because it funded the effort by sweeping money from the gun lobby’s zealously protected trust fund used to regulate concealed weapons permits.

In a written statement, King called out Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam — the state’s agriculture commissioner who oversees concealed weapons permit regulations — for opposing the raid on the so-called gun trust fund and for once calling himself a “proud NRA sellout.”

“We should be investing in new and innovative ways to keep Floridians safe and that’s why I’ll bring my bold, progressive policy to Tallahassee and send ‘proud NRA sellouts’ like Adam Putnam packing,” King said. He said he’s “proposing the ‘Every Kid Fund’ for Gun Violence Prevention because every child deserves to grow up in a state free from the scourge of gun violence, whether it’s everyday gun violence or mass shootings.”

King’s proposal marks the latest political tremor in Florida politics that was rocked by school shooting in Parkland.

After the mass shooting, all four major Democratic candidates for governor called for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Democratic front-runner Philip Levine was the first candidate to air TV ads calling for gun control. In previous years, Democratic candidates for governor have left the issue alone or been far-more muted about guns, even as the NRA backed their Republican rivals.

Parkland, though, changed the political calculus and, for the first time since Republicans seized control of the governor’s mansion and both chambers of the Legislature in 20 years, GOP lawmakers bucked the NRA and passed limited gun control that imposed a new three-day waiting period and 21-year age limit for the purchase of all firearms.

Republicans, though, repeatedly voted down Democratic proposals for an assault weapons ban.

The legislative reaction to Parkland sharply contrasted with the Legislature’s lack of response after the 2016 Pulse terrorist attack that left 49 dead and 53 wounded. In his recently released ad, King brought up the disparate responses and said that “Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature did nothing. … I’ll stand up to the NRA and hold both parties accountable — to ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, and require background checks on all gun sales.”

But if the just-ended spring lawmaking session is any indication, Republican legislative leaders probably won’t go along with the proposal. In addition to not wanting to revisit gun control, Republican legislators have also resisted raising taxes.

And though polls indicate Florida voters might favor more gun control, it’s unclear whether it’s a political winner at the ballot box. One Parkland parent is forming a super PAC to put NRA-backed candidates on defense, but it’s aimed at federal candidates, not state office seekers.

Under King’s plan, the new trust fund he wants to establish would be filled with revenue from three sources: the 6-percent sales taxes on gun and ammunition; an additional 6-percent bullet tax; and revenues saved by criminal justice reforms that King proposed in his “Turning the Tide” criminal justice plan. It’s unclear how much money they proposals would raise or how many guns and bullets are sold in Florida.

A proposal to add a new 1 percent sales tax on gun and ammunition sales was proposed as an amendment to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Safety Act in the Florida House by state Rep. Evan Jenne (D-Hollywood), but it wasn’t voted on for technical grounds.

King plans to discuss his proposal on Friday at a St. Petersburg roundtable discussion with gun violence survivors, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Indivisible and members of March for Our Lives, the group Stoneman Douglas students formed after the shootings.