Bill to allow guns in churches, synagogues, mosques advances in Florida Senate – By James Call (Tallahassee Democrat) / Feb 1 2021
What’s known as the “bibles and bullets” bill is back before lawmakers this year.
A Senate committee on Monday voted to expand gun rights to allow a concealed weapon license holder to carry a firearm into a church, mosque or synagogue where there is also a school.
Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, guided a revived version of last legislative session’s “bibles and bullets” bill through the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 7-4 party-line vote.
He described his “Safety of Religious Institutions” bill (SB 498) as a simple clarification of the state’s current prohibition of guns on school campuses.
This year’s measure waives it for campuses where a school is attached to a house of worship or on the same property. He framed the prohibition as at odds with constitutional rights.
