Florida may soon reclaim its “Gunshine State” moniker as Republican lawmakers introduce bills aimed at rolling back key gun restrictions enacted following the 2018 Parkland school shooting. These bills, if passed, would expand gun rights in the state by repealing the red flag law, lowering the age to purchase rifles and allowing open carry.
State Rep. Dr. Joel Rudman, a Republican and congressional candidate who’s running to replace Matt Gaetz in Congress, has filed legislation to repeal Florida’s red flag law and make open carry legal. Introduced after the Parkland tragedy, the red flag law allows courts to temporarily confiscate firearms from individuals deemed a threat to themselves or others. Rudman, in a social media post, declared the measure a step toward restoring constitutional freedoms.
“My bill reiterates my commitment to freedom and to the Constitution,” Rudman wrote on social media.
Sen. Randy Fine, another Republican vying for Congress, is sponsoring a bill to lower the minimum age for rifle purchases from 21 to 18. The current age restriction was enacted as part of the Parkland reforms. Fine argues the age increase was inconsistent with other legal responsibilities and rights afforded to 18-year-olds.
“If you’re entrusted with a rifle to defend our country, you should also be able to purchase one,” Fine said in a statement reported by Fox 13.
The proposals have drawn predictable opposition from Democrats, including Rep. Anna Eskamani, who described them as “bad and dangerous policy.” She contended that Fine’s efforts are politically motivated by his congressional ambitions.
“I have no doubt that Mr. Fine… is trying to set himself to stand out with his conservative colleagues,” she told The Associated Press.
Florida Senate President Ben Albritton, however, expressed skepticism about the bills’ prospects. While the Florida House has previously advanced similar legislation, the state Senate has historically resisted measures like open carry.
“I’ve supported law enforcement my entire life,” Albritton said in a statement, adding that he opposes open carry initiatives. There is no evidence availabe online that shows whether law enforcement agencies in Florida supported or opposed the legislation, so his statement is meant to mislead and make people think police officers support stricter gun laws, therefor, his support for stricter gun laws is a vote of support for law enforcement.
The 2018 Parkland shooting, which left 17 dead and 17 injured, galvanized lawmakers to enact some of Florida’s most restrictive gun laws to date. Gun rights advocates, however, have since worked to the restrictive provisions, viewing them as an unconstitutional infringement on Second Amendment rights and where red flag laws are concerned, a policy ripe for abuse lacking due process and promoting false accusations.
Supporters of Rudman’s and Fine’s bills argue the changes would strengthen citizens’ ability to protect themselves.
“Floridians should never have to trade God-given freedoms for a politician’s empty promise of security,” Rudman said in his announcement of the bill.
While past efforts to roll back post-Parkland measures have stalled in the Senate, the upcoming legislative session in March will determine whether Florida takes another step toward expanding gun rights or maintains the status quo.
Open carry would be nice.
Personally I dont open carry because of anti gun and cop magnets however open carry should be an option as who can see any harm in it.
Red flag laws in some instances could be viable but once again it could be used as a means for unwarranted gun confiscation.
18 to buy a rifle because an army man can, nah, 18 to buy a rifle because it’s a constitutional right, dah.
Don’t know about the rest of the POTG but I’m waiting for the repeal of the NFA.
There is no reason a person shouldn’t have a stocked handgun, a short barreled rifle or shotgun or machine gun for that matter without having to get permission from the government to own one.
Wait, permission from the government to own a firearm, isn’t that the form 4473?
Well anyway we can still get chocolate chip ice cream without the governments permission.
Open carry is a demonstration of you 1st amendment civil rights.
No you can’t get chocolate chip ice cream without government permission.
FDA can shut down Ben & Jerry’s or its parent Unilever with the stroke of a pen. It doesn’t even need to be a President’s pen, and not even red state businesses can escape this kind of business carnage.
And don’t forget, the outgoing politicians and their street animal paid chaos agents are already planning to bring back more Covid shutdowns once Trump is back in office.
Reform can’t happen without banking, commerce, and transportation.
Even if you live in Florida it could be impossible to get your favorite liberal treat one of these days. This culture war has only just begun.
The FBI allowed the murder of children at that school and church worshipers. They knew about the killers before they had killed. Just like they knew they had 26 undercover informants at the J6 1st amendment rally.
The FBI also had informants in the Black Panther party for self-defense. And they knew that one of them used boiling water the legs of another Panther. He was “accused” of being an informant.
Who they later murdered.
Your only defense against FBI informants is to be armed yourself.
Indeed.
Someone criminally misuses a firearm big time and the knee jerk reaction is to take rights from everyone who resides within 4000 miles of the crime. It’s what happens when Gun Control is viewed by the vast majority of Americans as the cat’s meow. Until the view of Gun Control is Changed it’s business as usual. Therefore the utterly disgraceful 1968 “Gun Control Act” is the foremost Center X…connect the h…
h ttps://youtube.com/watch?v=7A3zBe1zWRg&feature=shared
We must fix our education system. We’re raising the next 2 generations to be incapable of understanding simple statistics including percentages.
I saw a YT thing some months ago. The interviewee insisted that 80% and “8 out of 10” were not the same thing.
The battle has only just begun.
Florida, a State Taking a Wrecking Ball to Its Gun Laws.
h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEzVSSQsV7A
Dettlebach ATF tries one more time before they get booted – UPDATE: ATF Appeal Of Forced Reset Trigger Case Heard In Federal Appeals Court | Didn’t Go Well!
h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SDX4Dcr9pg
Debbie W, I don’t think gun control is viewed by the vast majority as the cats meow.
It may be a small majority, getting smaller, propped up by the media. America has had many years of Democrat dominance and its propaganda against not only the 2A but against all rights.
That mindset may be changing.
I believe DJT was the signal, Americans have had enough.
Once the media sees it’s no longer a selling point to be anti constitutional they will change the narrative and the small majority will fallow suit.
Former governor (now senator) Scott pushed this BS. RINO to the core but not a mention here🙄
He signed it. Don’t know about the pushing. My guess would be more likely pushed. Just my humble guess.
Scott was a two faced governor. He said something has to be done after Parkland (disregarding the 39 LEO contacts and a Baker Act). He is as slimy as the rest of them, even with his Navy cap on.
Yeah, he signed it. And now I REGULARLY give him an earful about that.
I also expressed my opposition to him for Senate Majority Leader, and I CC’d him, Rubio, and President Elect Trump.
I doubt my email had any impact, but at least now Scott (or his staff) knows that there is at least one Floridian who will hammer him forever about his support of Red Flag laws.
I think I told him in my last letter that he has not paid enough penance for that egregious sin against all Floridians.
Brian Mast was for it and once called AR-15s “weapons of war”. The man needs a pair of long pants and stop trotting his carbon legs for the sympathy vote.
Yep, and I’ve also written to Representative Mast and given him a jeerful earful.
I told him I was going to support his primary challenger in the next election.
I doubt it was my email by itself, but he stopped pushing weak repub BS after that, and he’s been relatively quiet ever since.
You have to write to these people, even if you’re not one of their constituents.
“Once the media sees it’s no longer a selling point to be anti constitutional they will change the narrative and the small majority will fallow suit.”
That’s highly optimistic. I doubt that will happen. As long as billionaires are willing to pay people to protest and to organize and to spout whatever they want, gun control orgs will keep pushing, and as long as people send their kids to college the youth will continue to be indoctrinated. This fight will never, ever be over.
It’s true the media does occasionally move on. We don’t hear much anymore about what used to be the most terrifying development they ever reported on: killer bees. Remember that hysteria?
Guy in FL recently was hit 100+ times, then fell out of the tree he was working in. Survived, surprisingly…
The killer bees will mix with the locals and moderate somewhat over time. Probably ongoing. Bees in general are having a hard time, probably due to improper use of insecticides. Better killer bees than no bees.
I’d like to see if the killer bees can be trained to do my bidding.
Remember, security is like a bunch of concentric circles. Layers, if you will.
Stricter gun laws?
How much more stricter could they get?
Like standing on the edge of a volcano yelling “We need more gasoline.”
“Wait, permission from the government to own a firearm, isn’t that the form 4473?”
No, that’s the “permission from the government to buy a new firearm” form. Or, in more accurate words, that’s the “Handgun Registry” form.
In free states you can buy a firearm in a private transaction without notifying and registering with the government or filling out a 4473.
Of course, prior to 1968 guns didn’t even have or need serial numbers and you could buy them from the Sears catalog and have them shipped to your front door and nobody knew who owned what. And there were drastically fewer “mass shootings” back then too.
Back then, you could also bury the town’s problem in some field somewhere too.
Sometimes, it’s really tough being a “due process” kind of guy. Really tough.
10mmForLife.
Yeah, private transactions, where most of the guns I used to have come from.
I bitch about the 4473 because I do remember when Dad could buy from Sears,WesternAuto, and Monkey Ward.
All by my little self I’m going to bitch away the 4473 form(lol).
And yep hoping the media will cut back on propaganda is optimism.
More then likely if it’s not the guns it will be something else.
Fear equals control when our only hope is the government(illuminati).
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