PTA dad takes on GOP lawmaker who opposed gun safety after school shooting

Less than a week after the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Florida, state Representative Manny Diaz was a key vote in killing a proposed ban on assault weapons.

Diaz represents the 103rd District in the Florida House. Much of Diaz’s district is 40 miles or less from the site of the shooting in southern Florida.

In the Parkland attack, 17 students and staff members were killed, and 17 others were injured. The shooter used an AR-15 assault rifle to commit the mass murder and was able to purchase the weapon even though he was only 19.

Despite this information, Diaz opposed the motion that would have simply begun discussion of the proposed ban in the Florida House.

Diaz is being challenged for an open seat in the Florida Senate by Democrat David Perez, a public school advocate who leads the PTA at his local elementary school.

Perez has prominently placed his position on guns and gun regulation on his website, noting he “will stand up to the NRA and fight for common sense gun safety measures.”

Perez, who is also a firefighter, backs “universal background checks, a ban on military-style assault rifles, and closing the gun show loophole.”

By comparison, Diaz has received an “A” rating from the NRA, the pro-gun group that has repeatedly attacked any and all efforts around America to reduce gun violence.

The NRA led the attack on the teenage survivors of the Parkland shooting after the teens began advocating for gun reform. Around the same time, Diaz was caught liking tweets that attacked the Parkland students by accusing them of lying about their experiences.

Should Diaz succeed in his quest for a seat in the state Senate, he will no doubt bring his hardline support for the NRA to the state capital with him.