A Florida House panel on Tuesday approved a Republican-crafted gun violence prevention package that now appears set for final passage by the end of the week.

  • Vote followed testimony from parents, survivors of Parkland shooting
  • Some members of committee resistant to compromise
  • NRA Tallahassee lobbyist called package attack on Second Amendment

The vote came after an emotional round of testimony by the parents of victims and survivors of last week's Parkland school shooting, most of whom said they weren't satisfied with the package but support it nonetheless.

They cited the legislation's centerpiece -- raising the minimum age to buy an assault weapon from 18 to 21 -- as a common sense provision that could have prevented the shooting. The gunman, Nikolas Cruz, purchased his AR-15 when he was 18.

"If we would have had these measures in place, I would not have had to bury my son next to his mother a week and a half ago," Max Schachter, whose son Alex was killed in the massacre, told the House Appropriations Committee. "I'm standing here asking for your help. I'm pleading for your help. I'm willing to compromise. Are you?"

Some members of the committee weren't in a mood to compromise, with Republicans decrying its gun restrictions and Democrats complaining of its lack of an assault weapons ban and a program that would allow teachers who are qualified to serve as law enforcement officers to carry guns on campus.

The parents echoed the Democratic criticisms, particularly about the so-called marshal program.

"My son Scott became a teacher to teach. He did not become a teacher to be a law enforcement officer," said Linda Beigel Schulman, whose son Scott, a geography teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, died while trying to shield his students from a torrent of bullets.

But most Democrats voted to send the package to the House floor, with some viewing the action as a dramatic rejection of the pleas of the gun lobby, traditionally a powerful force in Tallahassee.

"I am not happy with this bill. Doesn't go far enough and now it goes too far in other areas, but the NRA opposes it, and I will not vote with the NRA," said Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Coral Springs).

The NRA's Tallahassee lobbyist, Marion Hammer, told the committee the package would have the effect of unconstitutionally restricting gun access - an argument that hinted at a possible court challenge should the measure become law.

"These provisions are nothing more than an attack on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding people," Hammer said.

House leaders are planning to hold a final vote on the legislation by the end of the week.