- Florida state senate passed an AR-15 sale ban with a voice vote on Saturday
- Senate president initially ruled that the ‘yeas’ outvoted the ‘nays’
- Minutes later a recorded vote showed that the measure failed by 20-17
The Florida state senate briefly approved a two-year freeze on the sale of AR-15 rifles on Saturday, before overturning the measure 15 minutes after the initial vote.
The vote to pass the bill came on an unrecorded voice vote, in which lawmakers shouted ‘yea’ or ‘nay’.
Senate President Joe Negron, a Republican, ruled that the amendment passed on the voice vote, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
The measure then failed 20-17 on a recorded vote.
The surprise vote came on an amendment to bill SB 7026, which would inject millions of dollars into mental health and school safety programs, as well as impose new limits on gun access for the first time in three decades in Florida.
Lawmakers debated the bill passionately on a rare weekend session, just weeks after the massacre that left 17 dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
AR-15 style rifles and shotguns are seen for sale in the file photo. The Florida state senate briefly approved a two-year freeze on the sale of AR-15 rifles on Saturday, before overturning