By Dave Workman
Republican-turned-Independent-turned-Democrat Florida gubernatorial candidate David Jolly has called for a ban on so-called “assault weapons,” universal background checks and expansion of so-called “red flag” laws in the aftermath of mass shootings at Brown University in Rhode Island, and the rampage by two terrorists at Bondi Beach in Australia, according to the Floridian Press.
However, there is no indication how the unidentified killer at Brown University got his firearm, and in the Australian shooting, one of the two gunmen was actually licensed to own firearms, although he was not an Australian citizen.
But that didn’t stop Jolly from writing on “X,” “After the tragic events of this weekend, it’s clear: we need to have a serious conversation about gun violence. Our country suffers needlessly and there are commonsense steps we can take: ban the sale of assault weapons, require universal and comprehensive background checks, explore licensing, and preserve and expand the red flag laws.”
Jolly served as a Republican member of Congress. He launched his campaign to become the next Sunshine State governor back in June, the newspaper reported. He was also a registered Independent for about six years, according to Alligator.com.
In a separate post, Jolly insisted, “We can respect the rights of law-abiding gun owners and also take sensible steps to prevent these tragedies. I promise to continue to listen to experts, engage with responsible gun owners, and put our kids’ safety ahead of political pressure.”
One person responding to his post wrote, “Jolly isn’t just pandering in the moment. He’s had gun violence on his Issues page from the start. He’s a reliable advocate for gun safety legislation.”
But veteran Second Amendment activist Richard Nascak in Florida, told TGM, “It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The effort to prevent gun violence through law has repeatedly proven to be an abject failure because it focuses on gun while ignoring the ‘violence’ part. The focus needs to be on identifying and treating what drives that violence. Jolly is merely jumping on the gun control bus thinking it will take him to political success, not realizing the bus is broken down. He has no new ideas.”
Jolly served in Congress from 2014 to 2017 as a Republican, according to Wikipedia. He left the party and became a critic of President Donald Trump. He joined the Democratic party in April 2025.
