Gun safety and gun violence prevention is one of the legislative priorities of the League of Women Voters of Florida, and the League of Women Voters of Alachua County supports the City of Gainesville and Alachua County in their efforts to reduce gun violence in our community. As such, we support regulations concerning handgun purchase, ownership, and use. We promote social and economic justice and the health and safety of all Americans by supporting regulations concerning the purchase, ownership, and use of handguns that consider the balance of individual constitutional rights with the general interest and welfare of the community.

Issues for Action:

• Advocate to make gun violence prevention and gun safety a legislative priority.
• Review and support local policy initiatives of the City and County governments that align with the League’s position on gun violence prevention and gun safety.
• Attend future City and County meetings discussing gun violence prevention and gun safety.
• Attend future City and County events related to gun violence prevention and gun safety.
• Share gun violence prevention events and initiatives on League social media.
• Distribute gun locks to the public at League events.

State-Wide Efforts:

• The League of Women Voters of Alachua County also seeks to reduce and prevent gun crimes, injuries, and deaths by supporting the League of Women Voters of Florida’s state-wide efforts towards:
• Support regulations concerning the purchase, ownership, and use of handguns that consider the balance of individual constitutional rights with the general interest and welfare of the community;
• Support licensing procedures for gun ownership by private citizens to include a waiting period for a background check, personal identity verification, gun safety education, and annual license renewal;
• Support changes in the law to allow local communities to enact ordinances for any type of gun safety measures in their jurisdiction;
• Support expansion of mandated background checks and three-day waiting periods for ALL gun sales or transfers, including gun shows and unlicensed gun sales;
• A ban on all semiautomatic assault weapons and large-capacity feeding devices;
• Comprehensive universal background checks and ensuring that the State of Florida provides all relevant records to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System [NICS]; and
• Continuing efforts to defeat unsafe gun legislation, such as Open Carry, Campus Carry, and Stand Your Ground expansion.