On Tuesday I told you about an attempt by the Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County to end a ban on weapons at Boca Raton's City Hall. This attempt was successful as their signage has in fact been taken down.
What is interesting is about the episode is that a city employee was quoted in another paper as saying they simply forgot the sign was there. First and foremost, this is interesting because it is in a very conspicuous spot at the busiest entrance to city hall. Also interesting is when a Boca Raton resident, simply wishing to exercise his right to enter city hall carrying a firearm, four police cruisers converge on the entrance and the resident was escorted for the entire 45 minutes of his stay inside the building by a police officer. Clearly a waste of city resources and embarassing to the resident as people in city hall may have thought he had done something wrong to need the accompaniment of the police.
Also interesting, is when this reporter had written the city to end their unlawful ban, citing the same Florida Statutes as the Libertarian Party did, I was summarily told I was wrong by the city attorney and the Boca Raton Police chief. When I brought the matter up to then Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist, he himself did not see a problem.
I was right then as the Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County is right now - citizens with a concealed weapons permit have a clear unabashed right to carry a firearm into city hall and not feel like a criminal in doing so.
One does not give up their right to self protection simply for entering certain buildings, which is why right now as this article comes out there is a hearing in the Florida House Judiciary Committee to support House Bill 517 which would expand those rights and I for one will not rest until the only gun control law on the books is the second amendment to the United State Constitution.
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