DeSantis signs permitless carry into law despite criticism from both sides of gun debate
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed into law a bill that lets people carry guns without a permit and without any training.
John Velleco, executive vice president of Gun Owners of America, said the governor signed the bill Monday morning in the Capitol, in front of a group of about 20 people.
The bill, which will take effect on July 1, has faced attacks on both sides of the gun debate. People from gun safety advocacy groups have said allowing people to carry concealed guns in public without training, and removing an additional background check, will make the public less safe.
People who are otherwise prohibited from carrying a gun under state and federal law — like people with felony records and certain disqualifying misdemeanors — would still be barred under the legislation.
Second Amendment advocates have criticized the bill for not going far enough, saying that without allowing people to openly carry guns in public, the bill isn’t a true “constitutional carry” measure as DeSantis guaranteed and as the Legislature has hailed.
—Miami Herald
Virginia teacher files $40 million lawsuit against Newport News schools, administrators over shooting by 6-year-old
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The teacher shot by a 6-year-old student at Richneck Elementary School on Jan. 6 has filed a $40 million lawsuit against the Newport News School Board, asserting that administrators failed to keep the school safe.
Abigail Zwerner, 25, of York County, contends the first grader’s alarming past behavior should have led to heightened safety precautions at the school. Instead, the complaint says, Richneck’s assistant principal ignored three stark warnings that the boy had a gun.
Richneck’s assistant principal, Ebony Parker, would not even look at Zwerner when she expressed concerns about how the 6-year-old was acting that morning, the complaint says. Parker wouldn’t allow the boy to be searched even after other students told teachers the boy had a gun.
“It was the responsibility of Defendants to supervise (the boy), control him, remove him when necessary for the safety of others, and search him for the firearm that they knew to be in his possession,” says the complaint, filed Monday in Newport News Circuit Court.
Failing to act on the urgent threat, the lawsuit says, shows “a reckless disregard for the safety of all persons on the premises.”
—Newport News (Va.) Daily Press
Juror gets 3 days in jail for filming court proceedings in Young Thug case
ATLANTA — A prospective juror in the case against Atlanta rapper Young Thug and his alleged associates was sentenced to three days in jail for filming court proceedings on her cellphone.
Juror 1004 was led away in handcuffs Monday morning after the judge scolded her for what he said was a willful violation of his instructions last month at the Fulton County Courthouse.
It was initially believed the woman livestreamed the proceedings on March 17, but she said in court that she recorded a video and then quickly deleted it.
“It wasn’t livestreamed at all,” the potential juror said. “I did take a video and then the young lady next to me said I couldn’t do that.”
The woman’s cellphone was confiscated by deputies, who found the video clip in her “recently deleted” folder, the juror said. She told Chief Judge Ural Glanville it was her first time being summoned for jury duty and she didn’t realize she wasn’t allowed to film.
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
NATO's Stoltenberg reassures Sweden with Finland set to join alliance
BRUSSELS — With NATO set to admit Finland, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg moved to reassure Sweden on Monday that he is "absolutely confident" the country is on course to join the alliance.
Stoltenberg said Sweden's membership was "a priority for NATO" at a press conference before a meeting of the alliance's foreign ministers in Brussels.
Finland's full membership of the alliance "will further increase Sweden's security and also further integrate Sweden into NATO," Stotlenberg added.
Finland applied together with Sweden for NATO membership in May 2022 in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but its application got tangled up in Turkey's opposition to Sweden's entry.
All NATO members must unanimously agree to admit new members. After months of talks brokered by the alliance, Turkey eventually relented and voted to admit Finland into NATO last week.
Finland is to be formally welcomed to the alliance with a flag-raising ceremony to mark the country's accession to NATO, Stoltenberg said.
Sweden's membership is still pending Turkish ratification due to a number of sticking points, among them Ankara's concerns over what it says is a lack of cooperation in fighting terrorism.
—dpa
