Adam Putnam Isn’t Florida’s Only NRA Sellout Running for Governor

In an interview with Florida Carry, one of the state’s leading gun lobby groups, Ron DeSantis backed allowing guns on college campuses and was “receptive” to the fringe idea that Adam Putnam’s scandal-plagued Department of Agriculture was too slow in approving some concealed carry permits.

During a meeting in a “hotel room in the early morning” with the gun lobby, DeSantis promised that as governor he would strongly oppose even the most basic gun safety measures — and made clear he is still against the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act passed earlier this year.

DeSantis was also “receptive” to Florida Carry’s complaint that Putnam has not done enough to rush the concealed carry permitting process. That view puts DeSantis and Florida Carry well outside the mainstream. Former Department employees have slammed Putnam for imposing dangerously high quotas for approving concealed carry permits. — leading to the approval of hundreds of concealed carry permits without conducting full background checks.

According to Florida Carry, DeSantis believes that Putnam and others should have scrapped the concealed carry system altogether and made Florida an open carry state.

“Just like Adam Putnam, Ron DeSantis has sold his soul to the gun lobby,” said FDP spokesperson Kevin Donohoe. “As governor, DeSantis will endanger students by flooding college campuses with guns and opposing even the bare minimum of the state’s gun control laws. Florida students deserve a governor who will stand up for their safety — not sell them out to the gun lobby.”