‘People will die’: why is Ron DeSantis loosening gun laws that most Floridians support?

Bill passed by Republican-controlled state legislature to allow permitless carry reflects a rightward lurch in Florida's politics

Governor Ron DeSantis went to the Florida capitol earlier this month to sign a bill behind closed doors with a handful of his allies. The bill, one of many hard-right proposals that Florida Republicans hope to pass during this legislative session, has stoked fear and outrage among gun safety advocates: permitless carry.

With Republicans' sweeping control of the state legislature and governorship, the bill - which would allow Floridians to carry guns without a permit or training - easily passed both chambers before being signed into law by DeSantis. The Florida house approved the bill late last month in a vote of 76 to 32, and the senate then passed the proposal in a vote of 27 to 13.