The wealthy island of Palm Beach, home of President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, is calling on Florida state lawmakers to ban military-style assault weapons, like the one used to shoot dead 17 children and adults at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
"The shooting in Parkland in Broward County is another wake-up call," said Councilwoman Bobbie Lindsay, whose resolution for the ban was passed unanimously by the Palm Beach Town Council on Tuesday, The Palm Beach Post reports.
"High-capacity magazines that can empty 30 bullets in a matter of seconds are not made for any purpose other than killing people.
"These are not hunting rifles or for self-defense. It's important that we as town leaders decide if we need these killing machines available to anyone other than our military and our public safety [officials]."
Palm Beach Mayor Gail Coniglio said she and the council "don't want to step on gun rights. But as a community we have an obligation to protect our children."
Following the Valentine's Day slaughter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Florida state voted to raise the minimum age for gun purchases, ban bump stocks and require a three-day waiting period for buying certain weapons. But it ignored calls for a ban on assault weapons.
Nikolas Cruz, 19, legally bought the AR-15 he is charged with using to kill.