FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Florida is blocking the public from seeing videos or photographs kept by government agencies that show a mass killing, a measure inspired in part by the Parkland school shooting and the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday that creates a public records exemption for images or audio that capture the deaths of three or more people, not including the perpetrator.
Supporters said the bill is aimed at stopping the spread of graphic images that could inflict more trauma on family members of the victims. The law applies to videos and pictures kept by public agencies. Private individuals would be free to share any footage they capture.
Ryan Petty, whose 14-year-old daughter was killed in the Parkland shooting, said he watched the school's surveillance footage as part of his research for a state commission investigating the massacre.
He said it informed his views on school security issues, but he doesn't think a good reason exists for the public to be given access.
The public would likely see the video without proper context, he said.
"It highlights the evil acts of an evil person," Petty said. "It makes that evil the focus of the video. I don't think there is a lot of benefit to the public seeing it."
First Amendment groups initially voiced concerns that the measure could hurt efforts to hold law enforcement and the government accountable for lapses. A previous version of the bill was broader, exempting "all acts or events that cause or otherwise relate to the death of a person."
The bill was revised to "specify that such photographs and video and audio recordings provide a view of the deceased in the final moments of life."
A few lawmakers objected to creating the exemption, including Democratic state Rep. Joe Geller of Aventura, who said the images may be "essential" for the public to know what happened and hold the government accountable.
