A national organization seeking to end gun violence has added congressional candidate Jared Moskowitz to its list of “Gun Sense” candidates — the only one in the race to represent Florida’s 23rd Congressional District to receive the distinction so far.
Candidates chosen as Moms Demand Action’s “Gun Sense” candidates have proven their commitment to lifesaving gun laws, according to the organization’s website. Moskowitz, now a Broward County Commissioner, earned an F-minus from the National Rifle Association in 2018 after 17 people died in Parkland at his alma mater, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Moskowitz highlights both distinctions from the two groups as badges of honor.
“I have cried with parents who lost their children” in shootings, Moskowitz said.
Shortly after the 2018 school shooting, the worst in Florida’s history, the Legislature raised the minimum age eligible to purchase an assault rifle from 18 to 21 years, implemented a three-day waiting period for gun purchases, banned bump stocks and created a law to allow law enforcement to seize guns from dangerous individuals.
Moskowitz’s testimony on the floor of the House has been credited with moving his colleagues forward on the issue. In that speech, he described what it was like to tour blood-spattered school halls and go to the funerals of those who went to school never to return.