At the time we visited - a week and a half after the shooting at the Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida - the legislature was having a gun control debate. Outside the conference room down the hall a huge number of protesters, mostly high school students, were assembled, watching the discussion on closed-circuit television. All the audience seats in the debate room were taken, so we were unable to observe the action directly. It's unclear whether this tragedy will result in real changes to the gun laws, but the national climate does feel different this time.
We wandered the hallways of power and were surprised to find that the offices of the Republican senators and representatives (the majority) were on one floor and the Democrats on a different floor. The Democratic floor had a bunch of signs welcoming the demonstrators; the Republicans did not.
When we returned to the capitol building the next day, the Army National Guard was out in force. Nancy was apprehensive that they were there to quell a gun control demonstration, but it turned out to be National Guard Day, where they showed all their toys - tanks, trucks, guns, mortars, and drones. They served hot dogs to us all, and a National Guard band performed patriotic songs.
At one point we saw something there among the men in uniforms and instruments of war that made me think I had been transported back to California.
We attended a morning session of the Florida Senate. Laws were introduced one after the other, there was no debate about or opposition to any of them, and they were passed unanimously. More likely to put you to sleep than to stir your soul. Perhaps we simply caught them on a boring day.
We've lived in California for more than forty years, and we went to that state capital exactly one time. This is an example of travel pushing you to explore your surroundings more thoroughly on the road than at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment