Courtesy Florida Carry

By Lee Williams

Luis Valdes, the Florida state director for Gun Owners of America, should have taken a few more civics classes – something the GOA leadership is learning for themselves, the hard way.

This entire saga began with a tirade on Facebook. Valdes blamed one Republican lawmaker, Rep. Cord Byrd, for the fact that Florida still doesn’t have constitutional carry.

Valdes didn’t understand that the problem is much bigger than any one politician. He still doesn’t get that. Neither does GOA. The fact that Florida’s gun rights have been surpassed by every other Republican-majority state is the fault of the Republican Party of Florida. The Republican leadership is to blame, not any one Republican lawmaker – especially Byrd.

We pointed this out when we called Valdes out, and I wrote this: “The Florida legislature has a pest-control problem – it’s infested with RINOs.”

Valdes should write that down so he doesn’t forget.

The responses written by GOA on Valdes’ behalf and posted on a pro-gun website missed another vital point. Their man, they said, was “attacked,” rather than the attacker. They’d rather portray Valdes as the victim, not the instigator. To be clear, Valdes called out Byrd because he didn’t know any better, and because trolling politicians for the delight of his 175 Facebook followers is the only tool he has left. Valdes was persona non grata at the state capitol before. No one would talk to him. Now, after he maligned an extremely pro-gun lawmaker, he’s become a pariah.

Keep in mind Valdes is GOA’s registered Florida lobbyist, and it’s his job to persuade politicians to support pro-gun bills, but none of them will talk to him. The only option he has left is the aforementioned snarky Facebook trolling. This isn’t good for gun rights, and it certainly doesn’t do anything substantive for the GOA members he represents.

GOA describes itself as the only “no compromise” gun lobby. Valdes claims he has never compromised since he became GOA’s Florida state director. The truth is he’s never done anything, so he’s never been in a position where compromise was an option.

Valdes has only fronted GOA during one legislative session. He’s a political neophyte who has never got a lawmaker to sponsor a bill, and he’s never filed a single gun-rights lawsuit, much less won any legal victories. Not only does he not know how the legislative process works, Valdes doesn’t even know when a bill becomes a bill.

In a story Valdes wrote for The Truth About Guns titled “Constitutional Carry Bill Introduced Again in Florida…Is the Third Time the Charm?” which was published Thursday, Valdes claimed Florida state Rep. Anthony Sabatini filed a constitutional carry bill.

“This is the third time that Rep. Sabatini has introduced a constitutional carry bill in the legislature. Thus far, he’s the only Florida lawmaker to do so. No other legislator has done so, even though the state has a Republican governor and Republican supermajorities in Tallahassee,” Valdes wrote last week. “These politicians should be tripping over each other trying to expand firearms freedom, yet all we see is one lone lawmaker currently trying to advance liberty.”

There’s a problem with Valdes’ story. Sabatini hasn’t introduced a constitutional carry bill for the 2022 session.

Oops.

As of Saturday night, Sabatini has only filed two bills for the upcoming session: campus carry and another that would wipe out the losses we sustained from the “Parkland Bill.” Both are good bills. Both will definitely receive our support, but neither is constitutional carry.

Anyone who has ever worked at the capitol knows that politicians love to talk about what they’re “fixing on filing,” but a bill isn’t a bill until it’s actually filed. Any pro-gun state director should know this.

Valdes has nibbled around the periphery of the gun-rights movement for years. I was first made aware of him in 2017 when he ran for NRA board. He told folks he wanted to “replace Marion Hammer,” as a board member. I remember laughing at this, since candidates for the NRA board aren’t assigned geographic districts. The candidates who get the most votes get elected. Valdes should have known this too. His candidacy fizzled, and he ended up withdrawing his name from consideration and never made it onto any NRA ballot.

About the only thing I can find that Valdes has done as GOA’s Florida state director was organize a rally for constitutional carry, which was held last month on the capitol steps.

“Gun Owners of America is having a rally for Constitutional Carry. Enough is enough!” he wrote on Facebook.

I should qualify this: Valdes called it a rally at first, as did Sabatini, but when only 84 people responded to Valdes’ Facebook post, the event was quickly retitled and became a “press conference.” The press conference drew around 50 people, which Valdes hailed as a “great success.” Any experienced Second Amendment advocate would have hung their head in shame.

Friends have told us that when Florida Carry called out Valdes for going after Byrd, we put GOA leadership in a quandary. They clearly knew their guy screwed up by calling out a true champion of the Second Amendment, but they had to be seen to support their guy – Valdes. I get that. I’d have probably done the same thing, but only after I verified the guy was right. Valdes clearly wasn’t.

Florida Carry was very clear about where the real blame belongs, and we pointed out Valdes owes Byrd an apology. He still does.

To his credit, Valdes is young and full of energy. The movement needs that, but right now he is an unguided missile. He clearly needs more guidance from GOA leadership, since all he can do is schedule embarrassing non-rallies and write snarky posts for his handful of Facebook followers.

GOA leadership knows this too, yet they attacked the messenger because they couldn’t handle the message. That’s fine. This isn’t the first time I’ve been attacked, and it certainly won’t be the last.

This whole back-and-forth reminds me of something Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles famously said: “A cut dog barks.”

I think you’re likely to hear a lot of barking coming from Valdes in the near future, unless he changes his ways.

 

Lee Williams is the communications director of Florida Carry.

 

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104 COMMENTS

  1. Civil war is the most vicious.

    If GOA/Valdes is a nebbish, why waste any time acknowledging the existence. If GOA/Valdes cannot accomplish anything useful, how can GOA/Valdes do any damage to any other lobby organization?

    GOA/Valdese is a nothing burger, or a serious threat. Which is it, FC?

    • Because FLC is afraid their friends true colors might be seen. When someone new comes in and starts pointing the cracks the old guard will attack that person instead of fixing the cracks

      • “When someone new comes in and starts pointing the cracks the old guard will attack that person instead of fixing the cracks.”

        I guess it’s more fun that way.

        • First rule of Bureaucracy is protect the Bureaucracy….kinda like Fight Club but more effed up and evil.

        • The only thing new about Luis is that he became a registered lobbyist. He’s been fighting the good fight as a private citizen for years. Almost as many years as Marion has been a total sellout. (Marion did some good in the 1980s, but for the last 25-30 years she’s cared more about protecting Wayne’s power and that of dishonest FL politicians)

    • As someone who is a member of Florida Carry and GOA, and SAF for that matter, I just don’t like seeing this kind of infighting. We’re all on the same side and need to remain united against the left.

      • “We’re all on the same side…”

        Evidence seems to contradict.

        Let’s look at this closely. For this discussion, we are considering FC in two different ways: state and nation. Included in “state and nation” efforts to contain/counter gun control legislation are (at least), GOA, FPC, SAF, NRA (hold on). If there are more organizations with statewide reach, we could include them. However many organizations you put into the barrel, we must ask, “What do they have in common?”. Superficially, the observation might be robust, but structurally, as a means of combating the focused thrust of the anti-gun mafia, one must conclude, “Not so much, really.”

        If all the relatively widely known “pro” gun organizations had very much in common, wouldn’t we see one of the leaders (or maybe a few) recognizing the value of numbers, both in states and across the nation? Why are there apparently zero calls by the organization leaders to “unite”? Based on my work as a community fundraiser for United Way, I venture the lack of focused effort is based not on solving a common problem, but solving commonly identified problems is a particular way; a way that sustains/grows membership and bragging rights for each organization. Despairingly, I suspect that should each of the named organizations find that all their members were also members of every other organization, none of the organizations would arrive at the conclusion that the goal (presumably, ending gun control laws) would be more effectively served by creating a single, more widely powerful entity.

        Which goes back to my observation that the prime directive for a living organism is to survive, intact, at all costs.

        • ” …I venture the lack of focused effort is based not on solving a common problem…”

          For some, and likely with Valdes, the problem to be solved is primarily trying to appear to be the “biggest, baddest dog in the fight”, which might secure the biggest piece of the available fundraising dollar, at any cost. To get there when you aren’t the largest or most attacked gun organization, one often needs to resort to hyperbole and unsubstantiated “facts” and also step on the toes of many that could help in the pursuit.

          We had a similar situation in Iowa for years- Iowa Gun Owners and their fearless/feckless leader, Aaron Dorr. He pressed “Constitutional Carry” for years and resorted to exactly the same tactics as are being used in Florida. He, and IGO never came up with anything close to a win, let alone any real support. It wasn’t the issue, it was Dorr (IGO) and his scorched earth approach.

          Interstingly enough, when Iowa Firearms Coalition, in cooperation with NRA, put forth the plan for Constitutional (permitless) Carry, it passed in the first attempt. There are other factors involved, both in Florida and Iowa’s success, but when BOTH SIDES of the state general assembly cannot trust the messenger and hate his guts, it’s pretty difficult to get beyond the person, to the actual message. Perhaps a Dale Carnegie course is in order… 😉

        • I agree. If all the organizations combined, the funds they would have at their disposal (assuming they didn’t all wear bespoke suits and have mansions built for them at dues’ expense and, of course, that they all didn’t go on African safaris on dues) would certainly crimp Bloomberg’s style. As good ole B. Franklin is quoted, “If we don’t hang together, assuredly we will hang separately.”

    • “GOA/Valdese is a nothing burger, or a serious threat. Which is it…?”

      Not sure, but in attempting to view the 14 or so scrubbed Valdes postings here on TTAG yesterday, it appears he and Zim are having a spat, or TTAG may be concerned about the honesty, validity, or concern for slander and libel contained in those postings.

      Any comment from the owners?

      • “…in viewing the 14 or so scrubbed Valdes postings here on TTAG yesterday…”

        This is curious. Just did a search on the TTAG website, and opened ten articles attributed to Valdes. If you are talking about links embedded in articles, that is entirely different (there are a bunch of reasons why links do “dead”). If Dan is scrubbing Valdes from TTAG, why are articles authored by Valdes still available?

        • Every article by Valdez I attempted to read brought up an “error- page not found”. I’ll try again today when I’m with my laptop.

        • Getting back to you, Sam, in case you haven’t move on completely- none of those Valdes articles come up when I scroll through the TTQG site… If you’re having different results I should take my laptop in for a checkup…

  2. But Byrd killed Constitutional Carry and 4 other bills, bit we should give him a pass? How the hell does Florida Carry consider them anything than a group willing to sell out gun owners for access. Stop trying to gate keep.

    Maybe they are afraid of GOAs growing influence.

    • That they bring up the number of Facebook friends/followers as if it is relevant does suggest a fear attack. But I am in NY and used to seeing the truth savagely attacked and suppressed until it finally comes to light and then minimized as everyone involved quickly retires I am sure there are no such problems in Florida………..

  3. Well at least we KNOW where the grabbers stand, with the mental midgets on our side ya gotta wonder if we truly are fu**ed!!

  4. I have some bad news for Florida Carry – GOA is swinging the bigger dick of the two.

    And as Samuel adroitly noted above – “GOA/Valdese is a nothing burger, or a serious threat. Which is it, Florida Carry?”

    Better yet, how about working together instead of against ‘Florida Men’ like myself?

  5. How much time, effort and publicity has Florida Carry squandered parading around fishing piers with folks openly carrying handguns in holsters? That really moved our agenda forward, didn’t it?

  6. Mr. Williams, you reek of elitism. Florida Carry claims that Florida is the “Gunshine” state. In reality they have given FL Republicans cover to pass things like red flag laws and the banning of binary triggers. Florida Carry needs to be whole sale replaced. FLC is dead ro me.

    • The GOP may have super majority but they are weak and spineless.
      Byrd gets no apology. He should get off his butt as he said he would do and work with Sabatini to get the bill filed.
      Being lazy and weak is not an excuse.
      Not being able to own up to your own failures is the real problem here.
      The bills should have been passed years ago.
      The GOP idea of compromise is utter failure!

  8. Snarky.

    But I’m sure that helps both Florida gun owners and Florida Carry in a way neophytes just can’t see.

  9. How much as Marion Hammer been paid and how many days did she spend at the capitol? That works out to what, $100,000 per hour? Or was it more?

    I know both Lee and Luis. It’s hard watching this, but I know that we have WAY too many people like Mitch McConnell who talk the talk at election time only to give it to us hard and dry, sans a kiss, after they get elected.

    It surely looks, from the cheap seats, like Luis is doing what a lot of other orgs are supposed to be doing, but aren’t.

    Besides, I’m guessing Luis isn’t getting paid much if anything for the work he’s doing. You’ll never say that about Marion. Of course, she probably thinks she deserves a whole lot more. As does her old buddy Wayne.

    • I attended the American Police Hall of Fame’s Freedom Fest and Luis was a guest speaker. Someone in the crowd asked Luis what he made. He said after taxes, it was less than $3k a month and he did it with a smile. In fact, he said he makes a lot less than he did as a cop and it doesn’t bother him one bit since he cared more about “working his way out of a job”.

      • Hammer gets paid for being on the board of directors for the NRA and to be a lobbyist. I always thought that lobbying was one of the duties of a board member. Her past accomplishments do not excuse her current actions.

        • Neither statement is true. NRA Board members are not paid for their service on the Board, and Board members primary duties are not necessarily to act as lobbyists.

    • Ralph,

      You’ve clearly missed the memo. War is peace, slavery is freedom, incompetence is a virtue and vicious infighting builds strong communities which, when set against each other for absolutely no reason build great nations.

      • “War is peace, slavery is freedom, incompetence is a virtue and vicious infighting builds strong communities which, when set against each other for absolutely no reason build great nations.”

        This should be a plaque on a monument. Or a bumper sticker. Or maybe in a book.

        • Right, maybe in a book. Because right now the Dems are using it as a field manual.

          As for the story… You childish morons…. Learn to get (bleeping) along! The politicians have you fighting like two roosters. And they are laughing at you, and making a mockery of us ‘The People’.

        • “War is Peace / Freedom is Slavery / Ignorance is Strength”
          – George Orwell in 1984

          Not trying to be Captain Obvious, but some here may not be familiar with the reference.

    • “War is peace, slavery is freedom, incompetence is a virtue and vicious infighting builds strong communities which, when set against each other for absolutely no reason build great nations.”

      The republican creed, ever since FDR was elected.

        • You would be wrong, Eric Blair viewed socialism as the answer to the tyrannical right wing big brother governments.

          “In Part 2 of The Road to Wigan Pier, published by the Left Book Club, Orwell stated that “a real Socialist is one who wishes—not merely conceives it as desirable, but actively wishes—to see tyranny overthrown”. Orwell stated in “Why I Write” (1946): “Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it.”[243] Orwell’s conception of socialism was of a planned economy alongside democracy, which was the common notion of socialism in the early and middle 20th century. Orwell’s emphasis on “democracy” primarily referred to a strong emphasis on civil liberties within a socialist economy as opposed to majoritarian rule, though he was not necessarily opposed to majority rule.[244] Orwell was a proponent of a federal socialist Europe, a position outlined in his 1947 essay “Toward European Unity”, which first appeared in Partisan Review.”

          He was also an atheist.

          It is gratifying to find that you admire his genius.

  11. “Geez, fellas, stop acting like middle-school mean girls and get on the same pro-gun page.”

    Heck no!!

    If you don’t believe, in detail, whatever I believe, whenever I believe it, you are just pure wrong. There can be no difference, no exception, no opposition. If you have a problem with that, you are unrighteous. No compromise on anything, anytime, anywhere, for any reason. Better to go down fighting the right way, than to prevail the wrong way.

    If you think different, you are my enemy.
    And because you differ, you are your own worst enemy.
    The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
    So, it turns out that you are my friend.
    But, because you are your own worst enemy,
    the enemy of my friend is my enemy.
    So actually, you are, indeed, my enemy.
    But….
    (this is what happens when you find yourself tangled in Gödel’s theorum of incompleteness, so never mind)

    • Yeah, but you don’t even know what I believe about what you believe about what I believe that Ralph believes.

      Because you’re not just bad. You’re terrible and stupid and stuffs. Practically the fucking Antichrist, probably a Commie and definitely an anti-American agent of Putin or Xi and…. ThINgS!

      Now, comply peasant, and ask no questions or we’ll enhance your freedom in the gulag after a mostly peaceful suppression of your dangerous misinformation!

      [Have a nice Sunday, Sam.]

  12. The Republicans know damn well that to get reelected you say a lot and do nothing especially when it comes to gun rights.

    Remember when the Republicans stabbed gun owners in the back over the silencer bill. A sneering Paul Ryan said “Its off the table” because Ryan knew it would be political suicide to have supported it.

    Again do nothing and the Morons who vote for you will still vote for you as they are not that high on the evolutionary scale. They are willing to believe the new lies as fervently as they believed the old lies.

  13. I feel it necessary to correct an allegation that was made in this article about me and the rest of the GOA leadership. The article claims that we were “in a quandary” because we supposedly believed that Luis had “screwed up.” Well, as one who is in the GOA leadership, I can honestly say that I have no idea what the author here is talking about. We were in no “quandary.” We fully support Luis Valdes because he’s doing a great job. It’s a shame the author didn’t call us to confirm the accuracy of that claim.

  14. I don’t completely agree with this article. If Byrd was a super close friend of our community he would “waste time” and let Sabatini’s bills be heard in committee. It generates EXCITEMENT and drama and lets people know it’s a thing. Lead by example. FL Carry, NRA are wrong. As a Fl Carry life member I’m displeased.

    • Super gun rights supporter could have defended himself with the proof of all the great pro gun rights stuff he has accomplished. Instead of calling out the attack dogs to beat Luis down, “what has Luis ever done, he doesn’t understand how bills work, etc…” Ok show us Lee, how Byrd is getting stuff done. Luis doesn’t pass laws, we need to hear what the great plan is Byrd has, and if his leadership is the issue, he needs to throw them under the bus and show us how he and his committee are working for us, even if the others aren’t. Or if Byrd has some great strategy, tell us that “we let the bills die because” and show us how that advanced gun rights in Florida. Maybe we don’t understand the secret plotting, if so show us how we are actually moving forward.

  15. If we don’t punish the people who stand against advancing gun rights, how are the rest of the GOP going to understand that we expect their absolute support of gun rights. If they don’t understand that failure has a price, we need to teach them this lesson.

  16. That whole steaming pile is a personal attack by another ” pro gun” group. Negotiating Rights Away needs to be flushed. Luis keep on keeping on, you get the most flak when you are over the target!

  17. The only reason to not hold a vote on popular legislation that “won’t pass” is to protect the no votes.

  19. Hey, Luis is passionate to defend our eroding rights in this state. If he had to blunt in calling out the people whom are supposed to be supporting the 2A. He did it. Everyone has to aware why crap has not been pass in this state. If the sitting smug head dolts can’t get off their numb asses of the seat, then time to get rid of them in the next election. He has done a lot of things on this website and others.

      • No you are by refusing to vet all gun purchases. How does it feel to be responsible. You fell right into that one.

        • As is their usual MSN manufactures news by only “reporting” half the truth ( a half truth is a whole lie). According to the AP article the girlfriend stated that the shooter was an honorably discharged veteran and worked for a private security company. Pretty sure he was properly checked out. I didn’t see anywhere in the article that the firearm was purchased shortly before the shooting.

        • My gaud are you reprehensible little ‘d’ dacian.

          If he “… fell right into that one.”

          Then you just admitted that, YES, you are dancing on the graves and waving the bloody shirt.

        • little “d” dacian “No you are by refusing to vet all gun purchases.”

          Said without knowing the facts of the incident.

          But always ready to attempt to score some cheap political points.

        • I’m going to go out on a limb and say the meth probably didn’t help this guy’s obvious mental problems.

    • Wait a minute, this guy is a member of the church security team, no way he’d kill innocent people with a firearm.

      • Do you think evil people are consumed by fire if they attend church? You’ll never pass up an opportunity to take a dig at Christians will you? If you were always bad mouthing another religion, it would be considered a phobia, but Christian bashing is encouraged by your tribe.

        • I’m sorry, you must’ve missed my posts regarding other religions.

          Let me state definitively and without reservation, I think the Muslim, Hindu, virtually every other religion as well to be built upon deception and delusion.

          I do like the Buddhists somewhat, because their religion is not based upon some magical sky daddy or mommy, and their reverence for all life is commendable.

          My point regarding his service on a church security team is to bring forth the fact that this psychopath was armed and in the sanctuary alongside probably hundreds of innocent people.

          Just by sheer chance, his delusions did not manifest last Sunday, the idea of that tragedy is terrible to contemplate.

          But it seems to many of the POTG that this sort of occurrence is just business as usual, nothing to see here and no reason for citizens to want to improve the situation.

        • “I’m sorry, you must’ve missed my posts regarding other religions.”

          Nope. I know you’re an atheist. I also know which religion you routinely knock in your comments.

          “My point regarding his service on a church security team…”

          Your point was very obvious snark. Why are you trying to weasel out of that like you were really making some serious comment?

          “But it seems to many of the POTG that this sort of occurrence is just business as usual”

          And how exactly did you arrive at that conclusion?

        • “I also know which religion you routinely knock in your comments“

          Only because the vast majority of posters on this forum are Christians who are continually glorifying their particular delusion.

          If Muslims posted on this forum, I would refute their delusions with facts just as I do Christians, Mormons, etc.

          Of course, there would be many so-called Christians immediately attacking any Muslim poster as the spawn of Satan, I’ve seen it here many times. Many Christians on this list actively espouse the idea forbidding Muslims from entering the United States, much less being citizens, much less holding elected office. Ilhan Omar anyone?

          So who is the bigot in that circumstance?

          “And how exactly did you arrive at that conclusion?“

          Just look right below this comment at Ragnar’s comment, he seems more concerned over the definition of assault weapon and makes no mention whatsoever about the perpetrator or how we could’ve avoided the situation in the first place.

        • “But I take digs at ALL religions” – As you continue to put down Christians while simultaneously taking up for Muslims LOL. Yeah it’s just because you’re an enlightened atheist, and totally not because your team routinely puts down one particular religion while defending another. I’m sure it’s a coincidence and has nothing to do with your politics.

        • “As you continue to put down Christians while simultaneously taking up for Muslims LOL“

          I am respectfully calling bullshit on your comment.

          Please cite an instance when I took up for a bad actor who was a Muslim.

          I don’t mind folks worshiping their religion, it’s only when their delusions interfere with my quiet enjoyment of life.

          And I will “take up for” anyone who is being unjustly persecuted, no matter what their race, religion, creed, previous condition of servitude or national origin.
          In fact, I celebrate the achievements of many Americans, regardless of their religiosity.

        • Just read your own conversation Miner. You’re the one that brought it up. Out of nowhere, you begin white knighting on behalf of Muslims while continuing to put down Christians. You proved my point for me. So you’re calling BS on yourself?

          I like how you go on to tell us how accepting you are while passive-aggressively calling those people delusional in the same breath. Is that what you say about men that think they’re women? I’m pretty sure talk like that will get you tossed out of your progressive circle.

        • “Out of nowhere, you begin white knighting on behalf of Muslims while continuing to put down Christians”

          Wrong, I never mentioned Christian, just that the psychopathic shooter had been a member of a church security team this Sunday before the massacre.

          Again, I ask you, when you have “white knighted” for a radical Muslim?

          Frankly, I don’t know what flavor of religion the shooter is, could be Baptist, could be Catholic, could be Methodist, the story didn’t say. He could be Muslim or Buddhist, but that’s very unlikely.

          My point remains the same; if his psychopathic religious delusions had potentiated the Sunday before the massacre when he was providing security in the church, the tragedy could’ve been much worse.

          I’m always surprised by those who claim that God told them to do the killing.

          What kind of wimpy ass God do they worship, that would require them to do the killing.

          One would think that if you were choosing a sky daddy to worship, you would pick a God powerful enough to do his own killing, rather then shirking it off on some member of his flock.

        • And there you go condescending again. It’s like you can’t help yourself. You aren’t half as accepting as you pretend to be. It’s okay to put down others as long as they’re not on the political ally list.

          “I’m always surprised by those who claim that God told them to do the killing.”

          Here’s a thought…maybe, just maybe the guy’s crazy.

    • LASTEST MASS KILLING BY ASSAULT RIFLE IN FLORIDA

      Assault rifle – military firearm that is chambered for ammunition of reduced size or propellant charge and that has the capacity to switch between semiautomatic and fully automatic fire.

      • And you can bet those dead people are upset plenty about the newspapers saying it was an assault rifle!

        Ragnar, great job in drilling down to the important part of the story, setting aside the death of the three-month-old baby and all.

        • …says the most dishonest sea lion in the room. Careful now, Dacian’s trying to take your penultimate liar spot.

        • “the most dishonest sea lion in the room“

          Typical, full of ad hominem attacks but devoid of actual substance.

          Would you care to exercise what little cognitive ability you have and respond to the content of my post?

          Or is your infantile sense of humor fully satisfied by slinging baseless insults?

        • Miner49er says; Ragnar, great job in drilling down to the important part of the story, setting aside the death of the three-month-old baby and all.

          Nothing was set aside. As this is The Truth About Guns, it is important to correct dishonesty and obfuscation.

          Commenters on TTAG have done a good job of pointing out that it isn’t about the guns, but the actions of criminals that result in tragic deaths. No need to restate those comments. However, there is a need to correct intentional misdirection, particularly when people like Miner49er use assault language.

  21. In reality, constitutional carry will not get a great deal of support in Florida. We have a strong history of liberal gun rights in our shall-issue CCW statute that has now become a national model. Those of us who are not absolutists just don’t get animated about open carry so long as we can tote around our fav EDC. That’s just the way it is. We can debate it forever, but in reality, we are a moderate-right state. That notwithstanding, an attack on any of us weakens all of us. There is a way to debate this without attacking each other. Let’s try that.

      • “You just gave the politicians a compliment.”

        “When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly.

    • There’s a dead three month old child and a badly wounded 11-year-old girl who wish someone had thought of the children…

  23. @Manse Jolly
    “First rule of Bureaucracy is protect the Bureaucracy….kinda like Fight Club but more effed up and evil.”

    Yep, first rule of any living organism: survive at all costs.

    • Technically it’s to perpetuate the organisms genes, particularly that individuals alleles, at all costs. Mostly “because” in evolutionary biology that’s the verifiable “afterlife”.

      The survival instinct is a neceassy byproduct of this drive.

      Sadly, both rules apply the bureaucracy though. Not quite as sadly, the current path means that they’re headed toward something akin to an ELE.

        • “They’re going to get what they deserve. Unfortunately, we’re also going to get what they deserve.”

      • Yet a certain segment of the population isn’t doing a good job of perpetuating their genes. The fact that our leaders are not only uninterested in figuring out why, but are actively cheering it, tells you everything you need to know about those evil people.

  26. Florida Carry was caught in a lie.

    https://www.instagram.com/realjohncrump/?hl=en

    https://i.imgur.com/PJpDEwX.jpg

    The guy who lied is the FB Admin for the FL Carry FB Group.

    https://i.imgur.com/0wdmEP2.jpg

    Them getting caught in the lie by John Crump.

    https://i.imgur.com/T1tkddy.jpg

    https://i.imgur.com/P3a6exz.jpg

    Turns out the guy that lied, isn’t just a FB Admin. He is their damn treasurer and board member.

    https://i.imgur.com/dbYf0Oa.jpg

    https://www.floridacarry.org/about-florida-carry/board-of-directors

  27. Turns out that two Florida Carry Members openly posted that they were against Cord Byrd and the Church Carry bill. They even went so far as to go after the NRA and that Floridians gun rights are being sold out by the NRA and Republicans with the Church Carry bill. Guess who introduced it? CORD BYRD!

  28. I have a simple question here, what’s the plan of Florida Carry to get these legislators to do the right thing and move gun rights forward? There seemed to be an awful lot of time attacking Louis on this but not a lot of time explaining an alternative.

    Isn’t this what made the NRA politically powerful and why the NRA rated legislators in the first place?

    Also, if there’s no one willing to say that people are blindly pulling the handle for a legislator doing no more than giving them lip service (see black people and Democrats) then aren’t we resorting to raw partisanship and maintaining the status quo while getting nothing in return?

    This is like how the ISRA voted neutral on FOID “reforms” in Illinois then told the people who pay dues to them the liquid spattering on them is rain and that they should wait until it’s abolished……Hopefully.

  29. Thanks Lee,

    You have convinced me to donate more to GOA since reading your article.

    What are you doing when you publicly put down another 2A group who is actually doing good. You must be one of those RINO’s in Florida the GOA is talking about since you are on the defense of one of your RINO buddies who got their feelings hurt/exposed for who they really are.

    You are doing a great job helping the Gun Control crowd. By the way, you are not friends with a guy who was Mayor of NYC with a last name of Bloomberg?

    Republican controlled and can’t pass better 2A laws. Time for Floridians to have a changing of the guard.

  30. So your solution is to censor him?

    All Valdes’ posts on this site give a 404 page. Meaning you either suspended, blocked, removed his account or posts, or he deleted his account.

    Here’s hoping it’s the latter.

    Because if it’s the former, you will have surrendered any moral high ground by resorting to the tactics of the left and big tech.

    • “So your solution is to censor him?“

      Just sit back and enjoy the cancel culture of the conservatives, bringing baseless allegations and mudslinging to American political discourse for decades.

  31. @Craig in IA
    “Perhaps a Dale Carnegie course is in order…”

    Wonder how many people these days know what that is?

  32. So let’s stop bickering and make up. Now, how about this, All the States that have Constituted carry recognize states that don’t recognize Florida’s CCE. Florida for example should recognize CT CCW Permit holders.

  33. @Old Lefty
    “If all the organizations combined, the funds they would have at their disposal… would certainly crimp Bloomberg’s style.”

    Not sure the combined groups can come anywhere near billions in donations. Thinking a tightly focused mission would be the most effective resource, all around. NRA became a lobbyist, a group with the funds to launch lawsuits everywhere in the country, all at once, could not be ignored, and is a means of lobbying in itself.

  34. When you have groups like NAGR, American Firearms Coalition [whatever the current-named iteration of the grifting Dorr Bros. is, or ANY state group affiliated to them], and (apparently) Florida Carry …carrying the water (pun intended), you’ll find pro-gun Republicans needlessly attacked along with solid state-level gun groups and national groups like GOA… As well as being lumped in with RINO GOP leaders and members. This has in the past and continues to divide gun owners who can ill afford to find out 30 years too late that the people they’ve trusted cannot in fact be trusted. Names matter not: Wayne LaPierre, Dudly Brown, Marion Hammer, etc. You will find the bad actors will seek to either grift off of the naivete of gun owners, or in other cases direct gun owners’ ire against good activists, leaders and public officials who are trying their damnedest to advance gun rights in the courts and in the legislatures. Gun owners can scarcely find the time to make a living, run local businesses, and then try to suss out the truth of competing gun groups’ messaging. We don’t have time for bull manure games. But some people are content to tear down the honest work of some gun groups because of some petty urinating contest they ginned up online to make other groups look bad when their target gets exasperated and says some less than diplomatic things.

    I have no dog in this fight because I live in the far north over 3000 miles away, BUT I am SICK of some groups attacking other groups that are doing good work, by using Alinsky tactics – such as isolating and attacking a solitary representative of another group – whose mission is 100% 2A.

    The problem is the GOP in many states and federally are run by RINOs while some Republicans are America First and not down with establishment/RINO games. The GOP needs a fundamental overhaul with ALL RINOs being purged hard at the primary ballotbox.

  35. @Craig in IA
    “- none of those Valdes articles come up when I scroll through the TTQG site…”

    This is the web address used: https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/. Just did a second search for “valdes”. The articles appeared as headlines. Both direct click, and right-click resulted in the full article appearing.

    Is it possible you have browser extensions that prevent you accessing the Valdes articles? Do all the other links produce a connection to the articles not authored by Valdes? If you are using a VPN, perhaps that needs to be off when viewing TTAG.

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