Since adding more guns to America's already horrific gun violence epidemic is the consistent go-to response to every mass shooting for Republicans lawmakers, Florida Sen. Rick Scott is now calling for military officers to carry guns on base, following the attack earlier this month in Pensacola.

Despite the fact that every U.S. military base in existence already has law enforcement personnel on site that are allowed to carry weapons, Scott apparently thinks this isn't enough.



"It defies logic that our men and women in uniform, who we train to operate multimillion-dollar pieces of military equipment and trust to keep our country safe, are not allowed to carry firearms on U.S. military bases. It’s time for this policy to change,” said Scott in a statement released Tuesday.

Believe it or not, U.S. military bases actually have many guns on hand, but personal weapons are typically banned entirely. Scott would like this to change. "The terrorist attack at NAS Pensacola shows that it’s more important than ever for our men and women in uniform to be in a position to defend themselves.”



Scott, who has already called for a pause to military programs training foreign nationals, says he is willing to work with the Armed Services Committees and the Department of Defense to eliminate these “gun-free zones.”

Officers on U.S. military bases should be allowed to carry firearms. The terrorist attack at NAS Pensacola shows that it’s time for this policy to change.

I'll work with the Armed Services Committee & @DeptofDefense to make sure our men & women in uniform can defend themselves. pic.twitter.com/taaNOfBddr

— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) December 17, 2019

But this isn’t the first time Scott has bowed to the gun lobby. In many respects, Scott is an extension of the gun lobby. As governor of Florida, Scott almost never met an NRA-backed bill he didn’t like: He backed the controversial guns-on-campus bill, signed the “Docs vs Glocks” bill, slashed the price of concealed weapons permits, and signed pre-emption legislation which prohibited local governments from regulating firearms and ammunition, just to name a few.

Following the school shooting in Parkland, Scott did, however, sign SB 7026, which raised the minimum age to buy a gun to 21 years old, instituted a “red flag law” and added a three-day waiting period to purchase a firearm. But it came at the cost of arming teachers in classrooms.

It’s worth noting that Hillsborough and Pinellas County schools opted out of the so-called “guardian” program. And, so far, the very same Republican lawmakers who pushed to allow teachers to carry guns in schools say they do not know how many teachers currently have guns and that these numbers aren’t important, which critics say just points to the fact that the program is a colossal failure.

Stay on top of Orlando news and views. Sign up for our weekly Headlines newsletter.