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The Tampa Bay Times broke some news in a recent article titled ‘Florida’s Capitol allows some to carry guns, even amid security threat.’

In this hit piece on Second Amendment rights, its author, Christopher Cann of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, claimed that being able to legally carry self-defense firearm at the state capitol is a “surprising oddity.” 

Additionally, Senate Minority Leader Sen. Gary Farmer, author of numerous gun control bills this legislative session stated the following:

“Allowing the general public to bring firearms into a Capitol building is asinine,” said Senate Minority Leader Gary Farmer, D-Fort Lauderdale, who has already sponsored three new gun-control bills this year.

Courtesy flsenate.gov

It isn’t asinine that you have law-abiding people who take responsibility for their own defense and safety when they visit the capitol while legally armed. And if asked, these legally armed citizens are required to prove to law enforcement that they have a government-issued permission slip.

As recent events in Washington, DC showed, no law will stop determined criminals. When a criminal is determined to break the law, they will break the law. It doesn’t matter if a jumble of words on sign says who can and can’t carry a firearm in a given location. Bad people will do bad things. That is the nature of criminality.

This was clearly proven in Parkland where a murderer violated the Federal Gun Free Zone Act and state law didn’t stop him from carrying a rifle into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Yet Democratic lawmakers in Tallahassee seem to think otherwise.  

Another Democrat, Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith of Winter Park, also endorsed tightening restrictions on guns inside the Capitol…

Rep Carlos Guillermo Smith
Courtesy myfloridahouse.gov

“The fact that people can just walk into my office armed, and that be okay, concerns me,” he said.

If Rep. Smith is so afraid of being gunned down in his office, maybe he should take a class offered at one of the numerous locations across the state and learn that self-defense is his own responsibility. While the Capitol Police do a good job, they can’t be everywhere. 

Some Republican lawmakers, those like Rep. Sabatini have different view.

Rep. Anthony Sabatini, R-Clermont, one of the Legislature’s staunchest gun rights advocates, said he and other state lawmakers carry their own concealed guns in the Capitol. He said he supports openly carrying guns in the Capitol and other government buildings. This year Sabatini has again proposed allowing people to carry guns on college campuses.

“I carry everywhere I go,” Sabatini said.

Rep. Sabatini clearly understands that if someone wishes to cause harm, he is responsible for his personal safetyThe Florida Capitol Police do a good job, but like every other law enforcement agency – they cannot be held liable for a failure to prevent a criminal act.

Over two million Florida concealed weapons licenses have been issued and I can say from personal experience at the capitol, that these law-abiding citizens are a non-issue. As Sen. Jeff Brandes affirmed, the safest people in the state are those who jump through the government-imposed hoops to exercise their own inalienable rights.  

Other states trust their citizens to carry firearms even in their capitols and government offices. There aren’t any rivers of blood flowing in those states. It seems the only places with violence problems are those that heavily restrict the honest citizenry from exercising their constitutional right to be armed.  

 

Luis Valdes is the Florida Director for Gun Owners of America. 

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39 COMMENTS

  1. It’s weird how you look at individuals pictures. If Gary Farmer were a gun loving father I would think that smile was awesome. But now that I know he is a gun hating bitch I want to hit him with a baseball bat. Is that bad?

  2. I was in the Gunshine State last week. I had let my Florida CCW expire and decided to retake the FL class to get my license anew. FL requires a permit applicant to demonstrate facility with a handgun through live fire, so most schools make their students fire one round. The school I attended usually requires firing ten rounds, but due to a lack of ammo could only provide us with two rounds. Two.

    Floridians can carry around the capitol, but their guns are going to be empty because there’s no ammo to be found.

  3. Don’t really care about journalists since they are the lowest form of life in the universe. As For politicians, a little Fear of their constituents is always a good thing.

  4. Pearl clutchers unite! Of course this isn’t about fear of “armed insurrectionists”. It’s about canceling Republicans and Conservatives – or eradicating us in the name of “unity” as Joe babbled about today.

  5. FARMER and his kind have stolen the Presidency and gotten away with it. As Florida fills with Communists from NY, NJ, and other countries the make up of state lawmakers will follow. The last state election for governorship came very close to putting a communist drug addict Mayor of Jacksonville as govornor whose platform was banning our favorite firearms. Hell, Floridas current Agriculture comminnsion head who controls the CCW permitting was also a principle in “BAWN” Ban Assault Weapons Now a gang of communists incorporated to deny Floridians their right to bear arms.

    Farmers district is Broward County, a strong communist stronghold in Florida, along with Diane Wasserman Schultz, a fellow traveler. Every mayor in South Florida would ban every gun in existance if the had the power. Fortunately the state legislature still has a majority of American Patriots supportive of the 2nd Amendment and a state preemption law stopping localities from enacting their own gun laws. But that has been under legal challenge for years.

    I think Floridias days as a gun friendly state days are numbered. Add bidens mass amnesty of illegals and $15 hour min wages Its time to get my daughter and her family out of there.

    • The day after that election I said it was the dry run for 2020 and told everyone who would listen that there would be massive vote fraud in the Presidential election. Thankfully the scum bag homo doper lost by 3,000 votes. DeSantis cleaned it up and a half dozen other States embraced it. This is the end result.

  6. ” “The fact that people can just walk into my office armed, and that be okay, concerns me,” [Smith] said. ”

    What’s the problem here? All he has to do is put a Gun Free Zone sign on the office door and he’ll be totally safe. Works every time.

  7. Liberal politicians: Omg, you have a gun! How do I know you won’t shoot me?
    Me: You don’t.
    LP: Omg, you have a hand! How do I know you won’t ball it into a fist and punch me?
    Me: You don’t.

  8. I hate these “you should live your life a certain way because I’m filled with fear” bullshit.

    Some people fear heights therefore all structures should be limited to one level.

    Keep letting the lowest common denominator run the world. See what happens.

    • Reasonable fear vs. bare fear. We need to get that message out to the urban area’s legal types.

      Also, there definitely will not be such a denominator that you speak of. Perhaps the peasantry shall be limited to bare-handed defense and single-storey construction. Those who claim to be overlords, and the more effective among the outlaws, will have the full range of arms and architecture.

  9. No need for paragraphs of words eviberals can’t understand. If we executed all the transgressions that we have falsely accused of, the ignoramouse 46 would have never happen. I will not pledge allegiance to a goverment that condones the murder of the waiting to be born.

    • Hear, hear.

      Except they do not ‘condone’ it. They encourage it, they revel in it, they worship it as a sacrament. They are unclean.

      Other than that. . .

  10. Perhaps it is time to start paying a personal visit to these folks to “enlighten” them in the error of their ways. Maybe half a dozen “examples” would convince les autres.

  11. They should be afraid. Politicians who are afraid of their constituents do not do things they shouldn’t
    .
    A well armed population is a polite population.

  12. “Some Journalists, Lawmakers” Translation: DEMOCRATS – Was there ever a question?

    File under: A Solution in Search of a Problem

  13. I walk right through the metal detectors at the Iowa Statehouse. Anyone with a permit can, I doubt that will happen should we ever pass “Constitutional Carry”. I’m OK with our current set up for now.

  14. 1. 2021 A.D. There is (01) 52,971 regular GunDealers . AN (02) 7087 PAWN SHOPS class-1 GUN SHOPS DEALERS. THE N.F.A. Class -3″GunDealers (09)127 too. The total of Gun Dealers Store fronts is 60 ,138 F.F.Ls too
    This iis offical count of GunDealers Retailes Store Fronts Business too. They are declinibg a lot by each of month too.

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