'Sit this one out': Father of teen killed in Parkland shooting responds when Newsom criticizes Florida permitless carry proposal

Ryan Petty, whose 14-year-old daughter Alaina was among the 17 people killed in the 2018 shooting at a Parkland, Florida high school, responded to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) criticism of a permitless carry proposal in the Sunshine State, telling the Golden State governor to "sit this one out."

"FACT: Permitless carry does not make you safer. States that allow concealed carry have higher gun homicide rates," Newsom tweeted. He noted that the proposal in Florida is being made close to the five-year anniversary of the Parkland shooting.

"Hey Gavin, my daughter Alaina was killed at Parkland and I support permit-less carry in Florida. If my daughter were alive she'd be carrying, because she would be defenseless in a gun free zone," Petty responded. "Sit this one out."

The bill, which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis supports, would allow people to carry a concealed firearm without a license — under the proposal, people would be authorized to carry a concealed weapon if they meet certain criteria required to obtain a license, though they would not need to get a license or the training required to obtain a license.

"California has suffered some horrific tragedies over the last couple weeks in mass shootings and gun control advocates promise that if we just implement their preferred policies, we'll be safer as a nation," Petty told Fox News Digital. "California has enacted what you could only call 'the dream' for gun-control advocates, and it is not proving to make Californians any safer. The reason is simple," he said. "Criminals don’t obey gun laws."

"I think Californians should just lift their heads up and realize that what they’re doing isn't making them any safer. You can't perpetually be just one more gun law away from public safety and that’s, unfortunately, what the gun control advocates are peddling," Petty said, according to the outlet.

Last year, gun control propoenent Po Murray absurdly accused Petty of supporting the massacre of kids at school.

"If you don't support the assault weapons ban then you support one of the worst crimes in America --- children being massacred by a shooter with an AR15 in an elementary school," Murray tweeted in October.

"I don’t support an assault weapons ban. Do you believe I support children being massacred, Po?" Petty tweeted.

"YES!" Murray replied.

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