Friday, 9 May 2025
America Age
  • Trending
  • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Money
    • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion / Beauty
    • Art & Books
    • Culture
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Font ResizerAa
America AgeAmerica Age
Search
  • Trending
  • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Money
    • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion / Beauty
    • Art & Books
    • Culture
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2024 America Age. All Rights Reserved.
America Age > Blog > World > Democrats in Florida seek to win over Latinos on gun control
World

Democrats in Florida seek to win over Latinos on gun control

Enspirers | Editorial Board
Share
Democrats in Florida seek to win over Latinos on gun control
SHARE

MIAMI (AP) — Annette Taddeo walked to a podium overlooking Miami’s Biscayne Bay and described to her audience how she had fled terrorism as a teenager in Colombia and now feared for the safety of her 16-year-old daughter at an American public school.

A blue and bright orange bus behind the Democratic congressional candidate carried this message in Spanish: “A future without violence.”

“Latinos are here because of the American dream, and it is really hard to do that when you are worried about your kids’ safety,” said Taddeo, a state senator who is challenging a Republican congresswoman, María Elvira Salazar.

Few places disappointed Democrats in 2020 as deeply as South Florida. A shift among Latinos toward the GOP contributed to several unexpected losses in House races and helped then-President Donald Trump carry Florida by more than 3 percentage points.

Democrats are campaigning differently this year as they aim to connect the party’s priorities to the personal experiences of a group that often feels overlooked in national politics.

The effort comes at a volatile moment for Latinos in Florida. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has attracted national attention to immigration after arranging to fly a group of Venezuelans from Texas to Massachusetts’ Martha’s Vineyard as part of a state-funded relocation program for migrants who are in the country illegally.

While some Venezuelans and Latinos affiliated with the Democratic party have condemned it as a “cruel stunt,” some exiles applauded DeSantis’ actions. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a Cuban American, wrote a column in Spanish for a conservative online platform seemingly taking DeSantis’ side by raising concerns that migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico could be criminals freed by Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Gun violence, meantime, is a particularly powerful issue in Florida, where two of the deadliest mass shootings in recent years have occurred. Spanish-language media have given wide coverage both to the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, a predominantly Hispanic area, and to the penalty trial of the shooter who attacked a high school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.

In an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in June, 35% of Latinos named gun issues in an open-ended question allowing people to identify up to five issues for the government to be working on in the next year. That compared with 18% in late 2021 and 10% in 2020.

“This topic has risen in the consciousness of the Latino community,” said Stephen Nuño-Perez, a pollster analyst at BSP Research firm who researches concerns among Latino voters for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Education Fund.

A gun control group founded by former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a 2011 shooting in Tucson that killed six and injured more than a dozen, chose Florida for a state-specific initiative and selected a slate of candidates to support.

The Giffords political committee gave $15,500 to more than three dozen Latino candidates around the country, and the group has so far invested $1 million in Florida this cycle.

In Texas, ads and billboards have taken on Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, using remarks he made at one of the news conferences after the Robb Elementary school shooting in his state, when he said it “could have been worse” while initially praising the law enforcement response to the shooting. Later it was revealed that nearly 400 law enforcement officers on the scene waited outside more than an hour before the 18-year-old gunman was shot to death inside a classroom.

“It’s a kitchen-table issue,” said Peter Ambler, executive director of Giffords, the gun control group.

“We think we have a real opportunity, specifically in Florida, where there have been so many high-profile, tragic acts of gun violence, where there is such an epidemic of gun violence, to really shift votes.”

Gun violence is killing an increasing number of children in the United States, with 1,562 deaths among those 17 or younger in 2021, according to the website Gun Violence Archive, which tracks shootings from more than 7,500 law enforcement, media, government and commercial sources.

Even though Latin American countries have tough gun restrictions, gun death rates are high as a result of gang violence, which is fueled by illegal firearm trafficking.

For some Cubans, though, gun control is off the table.

Isabel Caballero, a 96-year-old Cuban woman, said she would not support any gun restrictions. In the years after Fidel Castro and his rebels toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, Cubans were encouraged to register weapons and later authorities used a list to go door-to-door encouraging people to turn over the firearms.

“‘Guns, What for?’ That’s what he used to say. People turned them over, and then the only people who had guns were them,” Caballero said of Castro and his allies. “Lesson? Do not let them go.”

But other Cubans who had arrived later in Miami said they were more willing to support a change, saying they thought it was not right for children to be afraid at school.

“You can find guns everywhere, any place. You have $400 and you can get it. It shouldn’t be like this,” said Amauris Puebla, who came from Cuba in 1994.

Puebla was playing a game at the Domino Park on a recent morning in Little Havana when Taddeo and Rep. Val Demings, the Democrat challenging Rubio for the Senate, made a stop on the gun safety tour bus.

Demings asked him if she could play. She won.

___

Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter, https://twitter.com/ap_politics

Share This Article
Twitter Email Copy Link Print
Previous Article Iran summons UK envoy amid anti-government protests Iran summons UK envoy amid anti-government protests
Next Article Ceremony and controversy await Harris during visit to Asia Ceremony and controversy await Harris during visit to Asia

Your Trusted Source for Accurate and Timely Updates!

Our commitment to accuracy, impartiality, and delivering breaking news as it happens has earned us the trust of a vast audience. Stay ahead with real-time updates on the latest events, trends.
FacebookLike
TwitterFollow
InstagramFollow
LinkedInFollow
MediumFollow
QuoraFollow
- Advertisement -
Ad image

Popular Posts

Carson Daly thought he was ‘going to die’ at Woodstock ’99

Carson Daly speaks out about the disaster that was Woodstock '99, admitting, "I thought I…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

35 years ago, Diane Warren earned her first Oscar nom for a song ‘about a guy f***ing a mannequin’

'Mannequin,' starring Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall, 1987. (Photo: Everett Collection)“I just think it's special…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Jason Momoa in Talks to Join ‘Fast and Furious 10’

“Aquaman” star Jason Momoa is set to join the “Fast” family.Variety has learned that Momoa…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

‘House of the Dragon’: New trailer for ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel series transports viewers back to Westeros

Forget winter... dragons are coming. HBO dropped a new teaser trailer for the Game of…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

You Might Also Like

Individuals have fun Leo XIV as first US pontiff: ‘Everything dope, including the pope’
World

Individuals have fun Leo XIV as first US pontiff: ‘Everything dope, including the pope’

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Australia information dwell: Anthony Albanese to handle new caucus the place girls outnumber males; Liberals set date to select chief
World

Australia information dwell: Anthony Albanese to handle new caucus the place girls outnumber males; Liberals set date to select chief

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Conclave reside: black smoke emerges from chimney as cardinals fail to agree on new pope
World

Conclave reside: black smoke emerges from chimney as cardinals fail to agree on new pope

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Meals requirements have been ‘red line’ in UK-US commerce talks, ministers say, as deal anticipated to be introduced – UK politics reside
World

Meals requirements have been ‘red line’ in UK-US commerce talks, ministers say, as deal anticipated to be introduced – UK politics reside

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
America Age
Facebook Twitter Youtube

About US


America Age: Your instant connection to breaking stories and live updates. Stay informed with our real-time coverage across politics, tech, entertainment, and more. Your reliable source for 24/7 news.

Company
  • About Us
  • Newsroom Policies & Standards
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Careers
  • Media & Community Relations
  • WP Creative Group
  • Accessibility Statement
Contact Us
  • Contact Us
  • Contact Customer Care
  • Advertise
  • Licensing & Syndication
  • Request a Correction
  • Contact the Newsroom
  • Send a News Tip
  • Report a Vulnerability
Terms of Use
  • Digital Products Terms of Sale
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Settings
  • Submissions & Discussion Policy
  • RSS Terms of Service
  • Ad Choices
© 2024 America Age. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?