Marion Hammer takes aim at the credibility of Florida Republicans. She rarely misses.
Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-22) and House companion bill sponsor Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen (R-78) are joining Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-4) this Session in carrying water for the extremists at the NRA and United Sportsmen of Florida, their crazier Tallahassee cousins. Back in October she filed HB 209, which would legalize unlicensed firearm possession during mandatory evacuations during Governor-declared states of emergency like hurricanes.
This bill — in keeping with the NRA’s paranoid fixation on this issue — is designed to counter the state’s emergency powers, inspired by a New Orleans Police Chief’s directive to curtail gun possession during Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath. It’s based on model legislation which has passed in a handful of other states including Oklahoma and Virginia, as well as post-apocalyptic delusional fantasies of vigilante justice in the face of a gun-confiscating police state. It’s also a waste of time that will help no honest citizen achieve anything.
The Florida Sheriff’s Association has come out against the bill in House committee hearings, and for good reason. If you have a license to carry a firearm this bill does nothing to protect you further, and so is redundant. If you don’t — why do you have a gun and where did you get it? This bill clearly encourages criminality and black market gun transactions.
Sen. Brandes, who represents moderate-to-liberal slices of Pinellas and Hillsborough, really should know better. He faces a formidable opponent this November in USF-St. Pete political science professor Dr. Judithanne McLauchlin. We at the Squeeze are fed up with this kind of special interest pandering and meaningless political posturing — Sen. Brandes may well find out soon that the voters are too.
The Florida Squeeze 
Don’t these legislators get it??? It appears as if the NRA runs the legislature, not the representatives of the people of Floriduh.
LikeLike
This has nothing to do with concealed weapons. Those that have CWP’s can carry period. It has to do with removing your weapons from your home if you have to evacuate. You do NOT need a license to a weapon.. just in case you forgot the document name it is called the constitution and gives every citizen the right to own a firearm.
LikeLike
The bill has been amended in committee to clarify that “the exemption provided by the bill pertaining to persons carrying concealed firearms would only apply to those who are lawfully permitted to possess a firearm.” I grant you that.
Still, the right to bear arms is not absolute and is subject to limits like all of our freedoms. This bill privileges an individual’s right to possess firearms over the duty of the police to keep the public safe during a state of emergency. It’s bad policy and serves a narrow, highly ideological interest at the expense of the general public interest.
LikeLike
[…] past, and while my colleague Ryan Ray and I often sit around simply laughing at the inane nature of the “Gunshine State” it seems we have gotten so accustomed to these floor debates and these types of legislation, and […]
LikeLike
Criminal vermin will be armed, and robbing people in a disaster. History proves that time and time
again. Call a cop during a disaster and ask for help –ha ha ha. The 2nd amendment says nothing about disasters, hunting, permits, or licenses. It says the right to bear arms shall not be infringed. Shall Not. Lawful or not, the protection of my home and family come before government and politicians. Its Gods law that matters, and no mortal will get between me and God, especially when it comes to the protection of my family.
LikeLike
Criminal vermin will be armed, and robbing people during disasters. History proves that time and time again. Call a cop during a disaster –ha ha ha. The 2nd amendment says nothing about
disasters, hunting, permits, or licenses. It says the right to bear arms shall not be infringed. Shall Not. Weather its lawful or not, the protection of my home and family come before government and law. Its Gods law that matters, and no mortal will get between me and God, especially when it comes to the protection of my family.
LikeLike
Dear Ryan,
You are an idiot – how old are you and are you even from Florida? – its hard to tell from your writing style and content how far past high school you might be (I’m assuming you are out of high school or at least are old enough that you should have graduated)
You are a typical extremist, talking vigorously except you don’t know any actual facts. So you argue like an idiot, and can only try to paraphrase the message you absorb from your higher powers on the internet and television. Inflammatory sentences littered with bad information. You are the kind that ‘legitimate media’ wants to ban.
So I’m trying to read some of your sentences and its a struggle to make sense of them. “…post apocalyptic delusional fantasies of vigilante justice in the face of a gun-confiscating police state…” Okay, I take it back, I’m doubting that you could have gotten out of high school, at least not one in Florida.
The few things you try to insert as facts are plain freaking wrong. You are a model example of the typical left-wing extremist retard, trying to paraphrase mainstream messages, but without any facts or solid basis, and you can’t even mimic their idiotic message effectively.
1) there is no “license” for a firearm in Florida. 2) “counter the state’s emergency powers” – What are you even talking about? What exactly are “emergency powers”, and how do you propose they will not “help no honest citizen achieve anything”? Are “emergency power’s” sort of like “super powers”? 3) Door to door illegal gun confiscation after Katrina is documented, and even the mayor admits doing it and that it was wrong. They passed new laws afterward to protect against it. But they weren’t taking guns from criminals, they were taking them, door to door, from citizens in they’re own homes. They thought it would be good PR at the time, they could claim they were taking guns and that would stop crime. Only they didn’t announce they were taking guns from law abiding citizens instead of criminals. You see, the law abiding citizens were easy targets – they don’t fight back because, well, they are law abiding citizens. 4) you are again an idiot. There is no license required to own any rifle or handgun. Florida does issue a permit for concealed carry but that has nothing to do with owning and most people don’t have a concealed carry permit. So what do you mean by “…If you don’t why do you have a gun and where did you get it?” You imply that every law abiding person who owns a firearm is a criminal. Idiot.
Your shill writer commenter’s are idiots too, but that actually makes sense since birds of a feather flock together. What does all of this mean: “…over the duty of police…”, “…expense of the general public…”, “…often sit around simply laughing at the innane nature…”. You deserve these readers.
If you are from Florida, were you still pissing in diapers back in 2004? Unless you were an infant (chronologically not mentally like you are today) back then you would know that there were no police around for days to weeks during the aftermath of the hurricanes. And you couldn’t call them if you wanted to because the phone systems, neither land or cell, were functioning.
Instead of sounding off like an idiot mouthpiece shill, do just a little research first. If you do then you’ll learn some real facts about what you thought you were going to write about, and that information will change your mind.
LikeLike