- Gov. Ron
DeSantis vetoed $35 million set aside for a new training facility for theTampa Bay Rays . - The Rays last week posted statistics on gun violence after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a $35 million proposal to build a training facility for the Tampa Bay Rays a week after the team shared tweets pushing for
In the wake of the May 24 mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, the Rays were one of a handful of teams that took to social media to promote gun-control legislation.
Throughout a May 26 game against the New York Yankees, the Rays posted a series of tweets highlighting various gun-violence statistics, including links to the data.
—Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 26, 2022
—Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 27, 2022
On Thursday, DeSantis signed a $109.9 billion budget for the fiscal year, set to begin July 1. DeSantis issued $3.13 billion worth of vetoes, including the $35 million
According to the local radio station WUSF, the site was expected to be used by the Rays as a spring-training facility.
"I don't support giving taxpayer dollars to professional-sports stadiums, period," DeSantis said at a press conference on Friday.
He added: "Companies are free to engage or not engage with whatever discourse they want, but clearly, it's inappropriate to be doing tax dollars for a professional-sports stadium, and it's also inappropriate to subsidize the political activism of a private corporation."
The Rays declined to comment on the veto to Insider.
DeSantis promised in April to sign "constitutional carry" legislation to allow people to carry handguns without concealed-weapon permits or licenses before he leaves office, the Orlando Sentinel reported at the time.
The DeSantis veto is the latest move affecting a corporation after it made public statements that went against his political beliefs.
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