A Legacy of Negligence: In Final Moments of Term, Florida Governor Forces Guns onto College Campuses Despite Pleas from Survivors and Students

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, released the following statements today after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 757, a dangerous bill that effectively dismantles gun-free zones at public colleges and universities by allowing staff and faculty to serve as armed guards.

By signing HB 757, the governor has chosen to dismantle long-standing gun-free zones on public college and university campuses, ignoring the protests of students, faculty, and survivors — the very people these laws are claiming to protect. This is especially egregious coming just one year after the mass shooting at Florida State University, where two people were shot and killed and six others wounded.

“With this signing, the Governor just sent a message to young people in Florida that he does not care if they are shot and killed at school,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. “He knows there is no reality in which we shoot our way out of gun violence, but he still chose to funnel more firearms onto campuses anyway—and in doing so, he has ignored the survivors, students, experts, and teachers who know this will have deadly consequences. Every Florida voter with common sense will see this for the disgraceful decision that it is.”

“This isn’t leadership. It’s cowardice,” said Jakhia Andrews, a volunteer with the Florida A&M University (FAMU) chapter of Students Demand Action. “After what our state went through at FSU last April, we didn’t ask for our professors to serve as armed guards. We asked for the bare minimum—for our lawmakers to prioritize gun safety. Instead, these politicians exploited our trauma to push guns onto our campuses. Today, the Governor decided that the gun lobby’s agenda matters more than our survival, and it’s a slap in the face to treat our campuses like a laboratory for their ‘guns everywhere’ experiment when we are the ones who will have to pay the price for their negligence.”

“Today, the Governor and the Florida Legislature have made it clear that they have zero interest in protecting our children,” said Jennifer Massey, a volunteer with the Florida chapter of Moms Demand Action. “They have ignored the experts, ignored the faculty, and most importantly, ignored the students and survivors who warned them of the consequences of bringing more guns onto campuses. By signing HB 757, Governor DeSantis has knowingly created a more volatile and dangerous environment for every person on a Florida campus. This session was a relentless assault on our kids’ safety, and we will hold every single lawmaker who supported this accountable for the fear they have forced into our communities.”

If any life-saving protections remain in Florida after the 2026 legislative session, it is in spite of state lawmakers, not because of them. With his signature today, Governor DeSantis has cemented a legacy of putting special interests above the lives of the people he was sworn to protect. But while the Governor and the legislature showed their cards by prioritizing every dangerous bill the gun lobby put on their desks, gun safety advocates still managed to successfully block some of their most extreme attempts to dismantle our safety, including a bill to lower the firearm purchase age, a bill to repeal the state’s Red Flag law, and a bill to provide sweeping immunities to gun manufacturers. 

In an average year, 3,172 people die by guns in Florida. With a rate of 13.7 deaths per 100,000 people, Florida has the 34th-highest rate of gun deaths in the U.S. Guns are the second leading cause of death among children and teens in Florida. Read more about gun violence in Florida here.