THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

Or any other influential political office, the NRA allows its running dogs greater leeway in talking about gun control than it normally does. Take for example, Florida Governor Rick Scott who is term limited, so he has chosen to run for the Senate. And following the Parkland Massacre it is politic to show some support for gun control.

Gov. Rick Scott and top state lawmakers proposed on Friday the most significant move toward gun control in Florida in decades, in defiance of the National Rifle Association, though some of their ideas fell short of what student advocates pleaded for after they lost 17 classmates and staff members last week in one of the deadliest school shootings in American history.

The governor, a Republican, backed raising the minimum age to buy any firearm, including semiautomatic rifles, to 21 from 18, a restriction opposed by the N.R.A., one of the most powerful special interest groups in Tallahassee. The minimum-age limit already exists for handguns, and it would have prevented Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old shooting suspect, from lawfully purchasing the AR-15 the police say he used to massacre 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14.

Mr. Scott’s plan, largely endorsed by House and Senate leaders, would not arm teachers, though lawmakers said their proposal would create a “marshal” plan to allow teachers who have had enough hours of training with law enforcement to be armed on campus.

Mr. Scott also said he would push to ban “bump stocks,” which enable semiautomatic rifles to fire faster, and would ask for $500 million for mental health and school safety programs, including requiring at least one armed police officer for every 1,000 students at public schools.

“I want to make it virtually impossible for anyone who has mental issues to use a gun,” Mr. Scott said at a news conference unveiling his proposals. “I want to make it virtually impossible for anyone who is a danger to themselves or others to use a gun.”

The N.R.A. said on Thursday that it opposes the age restriction. President Trump said on Friday that he supports it, and Mr. Scott said he had not spoken to the N.R.A. about his proposals.

Mr. Scott, who is widely expected to run for a United States Senate seat this year, also broke with the president and the N.R.A. by not endorsing putting more armed personnel in schools, an idea fiercely opposed by the students from Stoneman Douglas High.

“I disagree with arming teachers,” Mr. Scott said. “My focus is on bringing in law enforcement. I think you need to have individuals who are trained, well trained.”

The governor can call for these steps knowing that his legislature will kill any steps that annoy the NRA. The only one that might pass is allowing trained teachers to carry into class if they qualify, one of the NRA's favorite stupid ideas. One thing is very clear, that nasty old fraud runner Rick Scott needs to be kept out of the Senate.