Senate passes bill to prevent release of recordings of mass violence

SARASOTA (WWSB) – The Florida Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would shield from disclosure photos and recordings that depict the killing of victims of mass violence.

This action comes a little more than a year after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in In Parkland FL. Senators voted 40 to zero to approve the bill, which defines a mass violence event as involving the deaths of three or more people, not including perpetrators.

It would create a public-records exemption for photos, video and audio recordings in such situations and State Senator Tom Lee is the bill sponsor.

“There are a lot of people who are appalled at the attempts by a lot of people to get access to this information to use it for commercial purposes or for nefarious purposes, and the impact it has on victims,” Lee said.

The bill cites the mass shooting in February 2018 that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and mass shootings in recent years at Pulse nightclub in Orlando and at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. A similar House bill has cleared committees and is available to be considered by the full chamber.

Sign Up for Updates