The five-member Okeechobee, Florida city council and Police Chief Donald Hagan may each be forced to pay $5,000 personally – without using taxpayer dollars – for violating Florida’s powerful preemption statute, which only allows the state legislature to regulate firearms.
As previously reported, the city adopted an illegal ordinance shortly before Hurricane Helene made landfall, which banned the sale of guns and ammunition and prohibited firearm possession in public by anyone other than law enforcement or members of the military.
After learning of the civil rights violation, Florida Carry, Inc. sent a demand letter titled Written Notice of Preemption Violation and Offer of Settlement, to the city council and Chief Hagan, warning the recipients they have violated Florida’s preemption statute.
The letter, which was written by Florida Carry, Inc. General Counsel Eric J. Friday, spelled out that the pro-gun group has sufficient standing to bring a lawsuit if the ordinance is not repealed within 30 days, and demanded the payment of $30,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees to “resolve this matter prior to initiation of litigation.”
Okeechobee City Attorney John J. Fumero, in a response sent Wednesday, claimed that the city’s Second Amendment violation was merely an “inadvertent mistake in using an outdated emergency ordinance form that, legally and factually, did not apply to the circumstances at hand regarding Hurricane Helene.”
Besides. Fumero wrote, no one ever enforced the illegal ordinance.
“At no time did the City, or the Police Chief, contemplate, nor take any action, to prohibit, confiscate or otherwise regulate firearms or ammunition in any fashion or manner. This was never the intention of the City. This was never implemented by the City. Moreover, to ensure this never happens again, the City has developed and implemented a new emergency ordinance form and process,” the city attorney wrote.
Fumero’s boss, Okeechobee Mayor Dowling R. Watford, Jr. and police spokesman Detective Jarret Romanello, gave numerous interviews to local media claiming city officials were reviewing the entire incident to determine how the “mistake” occurred. Romanello also claimed he looked forward to “providing more answers as soon as the review is complete.”
In his response, Fumero also balked at Florida Carry’s monetary demand.
“We see no legal, factual or public policy basis for your organization demanding payment of taxpayer dollars to satisfy your assertion of ‘damages and attorneys’ fees. The City is a rural small town that fundamentally believes in gun rights and the Second Amendment. From any standpoint, for Florida Carry, Inc. to take legal action against the City, under the circumstances described herein, is patently inappropriate and unjustified,” he wrote.
In an email reply to Fumero, Friday advised the city attorney to re-read Florida statute Sec. 790.33, which does not require actual enforcement of a preemption violation, since enactment itself is enough to prove liability.
“Inadvertence and ignorance of the law by government is no more of an excuse for violating civil rights than when a citizen ‘inadvertently’ violates the law and is arrested and prosecuted,” Friday wrote. “I will begin drafting my Complaint seeking relief, including personal fines against the city officials under whose jurisdiction this knowing and willful enactment occurred. You may want to inform the relevant officials that they are not allowed to use tax dollars to defend themselves from such liability, and that any fine assessed will be personally payable by them, to alleviate your concerns about tax dollars.”
Lee Williams is a board member of Florida Carry, Inc.
This story is courtesy of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support pro-gun stories like this.
Yes! It’s about time some of these idiots become personally responsible.
Go get em.
THIS! IS! THE! WAY!
Holding officials responsible for reprehensible official acts is the only way to stop them.
Holding these idiots personally responsible for their actions is the only way this type of stupidity will stop. AG Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom should be the next followed by by the entire Cali legislature. As a private citizen I will be held accountable for my actions, politicians need to held to the same consequence.
Meanwhile in the warning of ideas to come land of NY:
Legislation A7717B/S8589A allows police agencies instead of individual police officers to be listed as the petitioner in an ERPO proceeding.
So good luck holding anyone accountable for red flags gone awry ever.
Unfortunately, in California there is no law to hold politicians responsible for illegal laws they create. And good luck getting them to create such a law.
MS and FL both have the personal responsibility clause in our statutes that preclude using tax dollars. From memory there were several MS civil court judges, a couple of police chiefs, and at least one mayor that ended up being poorer. None in the last 5 years tho since the message got out. There’s likely a few other States that do it the same way.
Telling people your Constitutional Rights are null and void whether done purposely or by accident is serious enough for the azzhats to cough up some reparation moola peaceably or by court order.
This is why you need to be a member of your state 2A organization. I hope they squeeze these tryants for everything, they can get out of them. It will send a signal to the rest of the state of Florida.
Don’t f#ck with the second amendment.
SAF win in New York: h ttps://connect.xfinity.com/appsuite/#!!&app=io.ox/mail&folder=default0/INBOX
Obviously the wrong link, try this one:
h ttps://polo.feathr.co/view_email?cpn_id=67084b68ea6fd5df0b6375ee&t_id=67084b68ea6fd5df0b6375ef&per_id=65c4f5dcd7b2a2b36d6cf5f0
Moderators will fail to post a word they don’t like but leave something that is clearly out of place.
“You may want to inform the relevant officials that they are not allowed to use tax dollars to defend themselves from such liability, and that any fine assessed will be personally payable by them, to alleviate your concerns about tax dollars.””
☝️Bang💥