Florida Senate bills 402 and 234 advanced out of the Rules Committee on Friday, headed to a floor vote by the end of this month. SB 402, which would create a method of enforcement and punishment of local government entities and their officials who willfully and intentionally violate §790.33 Florida Statutes. This 1987 statute declares the Legislature is occupying the entire field of regulations of firearms and ammunition, and that any existing or future rule, ordinance, or regulation enacted by any county, city, town, or municipality is null and void.
The problem is that the statute contained no language that would prevent a county or city from ignoring it. In fact, a full two-thirds of Florida's sixty-seven counties had ordinances which could be in violation of statute. A citizen's only relief would be to bring suit against the local jurisdiction, a prospect that most could not afford since even though one might prevail, no legal fees could be recouped. SB 402 would fix this by awarding court costs and lawyer fees to the prevailing party. If the local jurisdiction were found to have intentionally violated statute, a fine could also be imposed.
Apparently, the mere threat of this bill becoming law has been enough for some counties to repeal suspect ordinances. St. Johns County is currently considering repeal of their outdated ordinances regarding firearms, and Volusia County has repealed two ordinances that forbade firearms on airport and water district property, places that are not prohibited by state law. Palm Beach County has also stopped plans to create a large magazine ban ordinance in deference to the bill, which is expected to become law with ease.
A much more contentious bill, SB 234 has several elements to it, with restoral of open carry rights for licensed individuals being considered for the first time since 1987. A little over twenty-three years ago, Florida became the first of a long list of states to adopt shall-issue concealed carry. If an individual had no disqualifying crimes, was not adjudicated mentally unfit, and passed a firearms safety course, the state would issue a concealed carry license, taking the function away from counties and municipalities who could deny a license without cause. Due to an administrative error at the time, the practice of open carry accidentally became unlicensed for a short period. Led by Janet Reno, an assistant state attorney in Miami-Dade and a cadre of law enforcement agencies, the legislature hastily passed a law that forbade open carry in a state that had enjoyed the practice for ninety-three years prior.
The Florida Sheriffs Association has come out in force against the bill, despite having preferred open carry over concealed carry in 1987. Blissfully ignorant of the lack of incidents occurring in the other forty-three states in which open carry is lawful, the FSA insists that licensed carrier's guns would be stolen out of their holsters, tourists would flee Florida destinations, and stores would close up shop and move elsewhere. Of course our neighbor to the north, Georgia, is an open carry state and has none of these problems. In fact, open carry is also lawful in Las Vegas, one of the prime tourist destinations in the country.
The bills were introduced by Marion P. Hammer, past president of the National Rifle Association and the state's legendary gun-rights lobbyist, and supported by Florida Carry, Inc., a gun-rights organization with members throughout the state.
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