Two of the most contentious bills at the Florida House of Representatives this session have cleared a major hurdle.
The House has voted to expand gun rights and restrict the ability of gay couples to adopt children, but before those votes came an afternoon of impassioned debate.
The debate over the 40-year-old adoption restriction was an emotional one, with some politicians tearing up on the floor of the House. It goes to the deeply personal nature of a bill that looks a lot like the controversial Religious Freedom Restriction Law that has made headlines in Indiana.
Most of Florida's 82 private adoption agencies are run by churches opposed to homosexuality. Under the bill, that would qualify as a "religious or moral" objection, and those private agencies could use that objection to deny adoptions to gay couples.
That's important because a month ago, the House passed a bill officially overturning Florida's ban on gay adoptions.
Critics call this bill a way of legalizing "Indiana-style discrimination."
"It's just like 50 years ago, we had this conversation with the lunch counter signs: blacks not welcome," Rep. David Richardson, D-Miami Beach, said. "If the lunch counter's open, it's open for everyone."
However, Republican backers argue the goal is to protect what they call the "religious liberty" of churches.
"They will one day be faced with a choice: to do something that may violate their beliefs or end their ministry," Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, said.
That bill passed along party lines, 75 to 38.
It's important to point out that the bill faces a much more difficult hurdle in passing or even being heard by the more moderate Florida Senate.
The bill that expanded gun rights will allow gun owners to carry their weapons during mandatory evacuations without the necessity of a concealed weapon permit.
Florida is no stranger to evacuations, especially during hurricane season. If you own a gun but don't have a permit, under the bill you could carry it in public without breaking the law. That's only if you are being forced to leave your home.
Supporters say the thinking is pretty simple: if you can take heirlooms and family photos with you, you ought to be able to take your gun, too.
The bill has already passed the Senate and is now on its way to Gov. Rick Scott's desk.
There wasn't as much opposition to that one, but there were opponents, who worry guns in the hands of people who aren't trained to use them could make the chaos during a hurricane even more chaotic.
The House also voted to scale back testing and to allow the school year to start as early as Aug. 20.
The lower chamber also approved a nearly $700 million tax cut package, but that's a sore spot for the state Senate, which is refusing to sign off on tax cuts, at least for now.