School security on the agenda in Tallahassee even before mass shooting at FSU

School security on the agenda in Tallahassee

FOX 13's Evan Axelbank reports.

TAMPA - There are a number of bills that could impact school security being considered this session in Tallahassee, but the deadline to establish final committee hearings for the session came before the shooting at Florida State University.

Lawmakers appear to be sticking with what they had planned.

The backstory:

The biggest question has been whether the state should change part of the law passed after the Parkland shooting to lower the age of gun purchases from 21 to 18.

For the third year in a row, the House has passed the bill to again allow 18-year-olds to buy shotguns and rifles.

However, the Senate does not have any committee hearings scheduled for the bill in that chamber, so its prospects do not look good.

A bill to allow guns on college campuses failed in a Senate committee last month.

What they're saying:

"You can have the argument on both sides of the issue," said Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County. "Quite frankly, I am not sure that 18-to-22-year-old boys in a frat house on a Friday night need guns. But I can tell you, unequivocally, if you had the right person armed with a gun at that moment in time there, they could have stopped it before it got to where it was."

There were concerns that the presence of more guns in a shooting would make it harder for police to respond.

"Imagine just having more people on campus with guns and law enforcement not knowing who is the good person with the gun versus the bad guy with the gun," said State Rep. Lindsay Cross, "I think it can just lead to even more tragedy and chaos."

There is one bill moving that some say could tangentially impact school safety.

The House has unanimously passed a bill that would ban cellphones not on college campuses, but on the state's public school campuses.

Some parents were concerned that it could limit the ability to reach students in an emergency, or vice versa.

But lawmakers found that schools function much better and that bullying is limited when phones are not being used.

They will still be able to be in a student's possession, however.

School districts will be allowed to establish special phone zones that can only be used with permission.

What's next:

There is a bill that has passed the Senate that beefs up training for security guards and guardians, establishes an emergency alert and mapping system, and strengthens requirements around locked doors.

That is expected to continue moving through the House.

The Source: Information for the story was gathered by FOX 13 reporter Evan Axelbank.

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