Floridians are rightly proud of the Second Amendment. It provides fundamental protections for gun ownership, the right to defend oneself, and to engage in hobbies like hunting and shooting sports. I have always believed in that right and will defend it as governor.
Too often, we let the partisan fight between Republicans and Democrats cloud our commitment to this principle. You see, I know as a Democratic candidate that our party often gets accused of wanting to confiscate firearms from law abiding citizens. The partisan critics are not only wrong, they’re also too often hypocritical.
The murder of Alex Pretti in Minnesota has exposed something deeply unsettling about today’s Republican politicians: for them, the Second Amendment is not a principle, it’s a prop. It’s a right for Republicans, but no one else.
When Pretti was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, videos and eyewitness accounts raised serious questions about whether his constitutional rights were protected. He was lawfully in possession of a firearm, never drew it, was disarmed by law enforcement, and then shot 10 times and killed.
What should have followed was clarity and courage from our leaders, both in defending civil disobedience and in defending the Second Amendment.
Instead, we saw silence.
Florida’s leading Republican candidates for governor, Byron Donalds and Jay Collins, said nothing when President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly challenged Pretti’s lawful right to possess a firearm. They said nothing when Trump doubled down days later, declaring, “You can’t have guns.”
For politicians who claim to be the strongest defenders of the Second Amendment, they cowered. Politicians who have staked their Republican careers on defending gun rights suddenly equivocated when the victim was someone with different political perspectives on immigration policy. The Second Amendment, according to their logic, only applies to people who think and vote like they do, not to all Americans.
I believe in the Second Amendment. I believe law-abiding Americans should be able to own firearms, even as we work tirelessly to reduce gun violence in our state through comprehensive and universal background checks, through responsible requirements related to training, storage, and licensing, and through red flag laws that have proven incredibly effective.
Florida, sadly, knows this debate all too well. After the Pulse nightclub shootings and later the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Republicans and Democrats came together to pass reforms that worked to reduce gun violence. Those measures did not end the Second Amendment; they strengthened public safety while respecting constitutional rights.
But this emerging double standard among Republican politicians should be a blinking red light for all of us working to protect freedom and reduce violence. They oppose background checks. They mock licensing. They suggest any regulation is tyranny. But now, when an armed United States citizen lawfully exercising his constitutional rights is killed, those same leaders look away because the politics have become inconvenient.
Backing the Second Amendment means backing it for everyone, always. Backing the Constitution means backing it even when it is politically uncomfortable.
Florida deserves better. We respect freedom. We respect personal responsibility. And we respect the Constitution.
Leadership means telling the truth: we can defend the Second Amendment and support common sense safety measures. We can honor gun owners and demand accountability when government power goes too far. We can protect constitutional rights regardless of partisan influences.
As governor, I will defend the Second Amendment — not as a talking point, but as a constitutional commitment. I will also defend the right of every Floridian to live in safe communities, free from violence and free from the abuse of government power.
Whatever our individual partisan leanings, we must insist our leaders defend the fundamental rights of all Americans — not just members of their own party.
David Jolly is a former United States congressman from St. Petersburg and a Democratic candidate for governor of Florida in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Second Amendment for all Americans — not just Republicans | Opinion
Reporting by David Jolly / Fort Myers News-Press
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