After the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting , Florida state senators held a contentious debate on SB 7026 , which included funding for mental health programs and authorized teachers and school officials to carry concealed firearms ; among the amendments that failed were a ban on assault weapons , large-capacity magazines , a gun registry , and requiring background checks for guns purchased out-of-state . Opponents of the ban on assault weapons included Sen. David H. Simmons , who drew an analogy to Nazi Germany 's ban on private ownership of firearms , and Sen. Kelli Stargel , who questioned whether the ban would be extended to fertilizer ( used in the Oklahoma City bombing ) and pressure cookers ( used in the Boston Marathon bombing ) . Stargel added " When we say ' thoughts and prayers , ' it 's frowned upon . And I take real offense at that because thoughts and prayers are really the only thing that ’s gon na stop the evil from within the individual who is taking up their arms to do this kind of a massacre . " In contrast to the repeated failure of United States gun control proposals , in many other countries , stricter gun control laws have passed in response to gun violence
Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
Thoughts and prayers