Florida Gun Owners Aren’t Fooled by Fake Constitutional Carry Bill
BY Herschel Smith
1 year, 8 months ago
Only three states fully prohibit the open carry of firearms by citizens, and I bet you’d be surprised to hear Florida is among them. Yes, we frustratingly find ourselves in the company of New York and Illinois on this issue. And Republican leaders, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, appear poised to keep it that way under the misnamed “constitutional carry” bill that is expected to pass this session.
Gun owners saw right through the façade when House Speaker Paul Renner threw a press conference at the end of January to celebrate introduction of the “constitutional carry” bill.
On the one hand, it does go a long way in restoring the rights of our residents and visitors alike to carry arms in public for self-defense without a permit. On the other hand, the bill falls short of every constitutional carry law in the country by quietly omitting the right to carry openly. So our leaders are trying to appease one side and fool the other.
I drove eight hours to testify at a hearing earlier this month on the current bill, and walked away ecstatic when witness after witness demanded the addition of open carry. In contrast, when pressed about open carry afterward, sponsor state Rep. Chuck Brannan (R-Macclenny) apathetically stated the bill “is what it is as filed.” Meanwhile, Brannan’s sentiments were shared by Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples).
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The same old arguments about bad people getting guns and “Wild West shootouts” materializing in the streets will be raised, but we have a mountain of evidence from other states to refute these claims. And to clarify, this legislation has nothing to do with acquiring firearms – rather it only authorizes those who already own firearms legally to carry them in public without government permission.
Now is the chance for Gov. DeSantis to once again step in and snag victory from the clutch of defeat by the members of his own party in the Legislature. While he’s catching some flak over other Second Amendment missteps, DeSantis can prove the doubters wrong with this issue by demanding open carry before anything gets his signature.
We don’t want watered down legislation. We want the great leap that other states have taken, which will put Florida at the forefront of liberty on another critical issue and far away from New York, Illinois and Washington, D.C. I’m urging Florida’s leadership to get it done – the right way!
Luis Valdes is the Florida state director for Gun Owners of America, a nonprofit, grassroots lobbying organization. He is a former police officer and detective.
The so-called “constitutional carry” Florida is pushing is not constitutional carry. There is nothing in the constitution about the government telling men how they must carry their weapons. What they’re doing is a sham, a fakery, and an insult.
It’s a trick perpetrated by carnival barkers and flim-flam artists.
The Florida legislature has failed that they even have to be told to do this, and even greater that they’re refusing to do it. This is all a gigantic failure, and while I like what I see in DeSantis, if he claims on the campaign trail that he recently passed constitutional carry, I’ll point out the lie each and every time I see it.
He should make it clear to the legislature that unless this bill includes open carry, he won’t sign it. That the current bill doesn’t include it is totally irrelevant. They can work through the night to pass the right language. So in addition to being flim-flam artists, the legislators are liars for pretending in front of constituents that there is nothing they can do about it.
They can always rectify errors.
On March 1, 2023 at 8:09 am, PGF said:
Tennesseeans were fooled by their fake constitutional carry enactment. In fact they still believe wrongly they have it. Something about repeating a lie often enough…
I’ve reached my end with the, nothing they can do about it, at all levels. If there is nothing they can do then they admit to being abject failures, weak, and completely incompetent, and therefore should immediately resign. They should be told this to their faces. Or is it that the various governments of the United States are not even run by those we elect but an unelected cabal? In this case they should immediately notify the people so that we can throw off such chains and effect governments that promote our liberty. But whichever the case, they declare themselves useless.
On March 1, 2023 at 11:28 am, Frank Clarke said:
Color me “unsurprised”.
On March 1, 2023 at 12:49 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
One of the unspoken facets of the expansion of gun rights generally is that it threatens the “rice bowl” of the law enforcement business. Carefully-done studies have confirmed repeatedly that when more citizens own firearms, there is less crime, and if there is less crime, then there won’t be as much demand for cops and the services they provide (or are alleged to provide).
I don’t have figures at hand, but the law-enforcement & incarceration business is a huge one, and there are a lot of dollars of potential revenue in play. In order to justify the status quo, let alone growth of the industry, there needs to be a steady stream of offenders and law-breakers of various kinds to which its political and other patrons can make reference.
Among others, Ayn Rand made reference to this racket in her writings more than half a century ago when she said: “The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.”
On March 2, 2023 at 1:13 pm, Steady Steve said:
The public should be telling Desantis that they won’t vote for him in the primary if he doesn’t get open carry done. You’ll see how fast it’s taken care of then.