TALLAHASSEE — Filled with fury and impatient for change, thousands of Florida high school students and protesters rallied Wednesday at the state Capitol to demand lawmakers take action in the final weeks of their session to curb the sale of semiautomatic rifles.
‘‘Thoughts and prayers won’t stop my brothers and my sisters from dying — action will,’’ declared Sheryl Acquaroli, 16, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students and faculty were murdered in a mass shooting on Feb. 14. ‘‘They are our students, our teachers, and our coaches. And they died because you failed.’’
As lawmakers were condemned on the steps of the Capitol, a bipartisan group in the House and Senate continued working to hash out a set of proposals that could be voted on next week in response to the shooting. Amid the din of the protest, rigid partisan lines that have long deadlocked the national debate over gun violence have shown signs of cracking.
The proposals under consideration stop short of student demands for a ban on the sale of semiautomatic weapons, like the AR-15 style gun that was used in the most recent shooting. Instead, lawmakers have focused on new waiting period and age restrictions on buyers of such rifles, new powers for police to confiscate guns from people deemed dangerous by the courts, and new measures to protect schools.
The proposals represent a sharp break from the state’s traditional response to mass-casualty gun violence. Though a contested state in presidential elections, Florida has a long history as a laboratory of gun-rights legislation pushed by the National Rifle Association.
The state spearheaded efforts to establish concealed carry permits and a ‘‘stand-your-ground’’ law, which protects citizens who use deadly force if they feel they are in imminent danger. Florida took no legislative action on guns after an attack on an Orlando nightclub killed 49 in 2016. In the current legislative session, there have been Republican proposals to allow guns in airports, as well as one to allow the carrying of handguns without a permit.
Also Wednesday, the sheriff of Broward County, where last week’s mass shooting occurred, has ordered all deputies who qualify to begin carrying rifles on school grounds. Sheriff Scott Israel said the school superintendent supports his decision, the Associated Press reported.
In Tallahassee, national gun control groups, including the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, helped organize the rally and then led hundreds of students to clog the hallways of the Capitol building.
Deafening chants of ‘‘face us now’’ and ‘‘serve your public, not your pocket’’ greeted state House members as they adjourned for the day, forcing many lawmakers to leave through side doors.
In several other high schools across the state, students staged walkouts in solidarity with the survivors of the Parkland shooting.
