Florida’s Republican In Name Only establishment has attacked an ally of Gun Owners of America after the group lobbied a lawmaker in support of constitutional carry. The Republican National Hispanic Assembly (RNHA) of Florida is being attacked by GOP 1st District State Representative Michelle Salzman for exposing the party establishment’s own hypocrisy in its stance on permitless carry in the Sunshine State.
GOA is a no-compromise organization that stands for liberty and protecting our Second Amendment rights and will not sit idly by while one of our own is threatened by those who refuse to stand up for the issues they say they support.
The RNHA publicly came to GOA’s aid when we called out Rep. Cord Byrd for killing constitutional carry last year. Additionally, they have made it clear where they stand on constitutional carry and House Bill 103 this session.
The following video was recorded during a public meeting between the RNHA and Rep. Salzman at the capitol. RNHA members were there to lobby in support of a range of issues. When the conversation turned to the constitutional carry bill currently in the House, it became clear that Rep. Salzman serves her political masters first and is more committed to implementing their agenda that she is to Second Amendment rights.
In the video, Rep. Salzman clearly states that the Republican leadership won’t bring the constitutional carry bill up for a vote because the leadership pushed the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Safety Act, a gun control bill passed after the Parkland shooting in 2018. After claiming that “we all friggin’ want” constitutional carry, she said that now “isn’t the right time” and that “as a professional courtesy,” she won’t go against the leadership that’s been killing constitutional carry in the state.
Threats and Bullying
Rep. Salzman wasn’t happy when she found out that the meeting was recorded. She was so unhappy, in fact, that she’s threatened to open a criminal investigation.
As a former law enforcement officer, I expect Rep. Salzman has a steep hill to climb if she intends to do that. There was no criminal intent on the party that recorded and the recording was made in a public space as part of a public meeting.
Under State Statute 934.03, Florida law makes an exception for in-person communications when the parties do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the conversation, such as when they are engaged in conversation in a public place where they might reasonably be overheard.
Furthermore, a public meeting has no expectation of privacy and Floridians are permitted to use sound or video recording devices, so long as the recording does not disrupt the meeting.
The RNHA’s meeting was a public event. They met with Rep. Salzman at the capitol (a public building) as a large group of politically educated and active Floridians to address matters pertaining to the public interest. The meeting itself took place in a communal conference room where the doors were wide open and anyone walking by could enter or overhear the conversation while standing in the hallway.
From an article by the Epoch Times . . .
[RNHA member Emily Nunez] said she became aware of the threats being levied against [RNHA Florida chairman Santiago] Avila and other members of the group the day after the video was posted online.
“Someone from the capitol called and was very irate with our state chairman, Santiago Avila, Jr. and she has since been sending him threatening text messages, wanting to know who recorded the video,” Nunez explained. “My name was never released as being the one who recorded the video. But now that she’s actually making threats, she won’t stop, and she’s saying she wants to press charges against the one who did it. So, I am just going to go ahead and identify myself so she will leave our organization alone.”
Avila said he initially apologized to Salzman for the video. But then Salzman’s legislative assistant called him.
“She was very rude and somewhat disrespectful, demanding certain things,” Avila said. “So, I asked her to send me an email requesting what she wanted, and she sent me an email saying, ‘I want a list of everyone that came to that meeting and the name of the person who recorded the video.’ I said, I can’t just give something like that up without going to my board because we have bylaws in our organization. That happened on the 12. On the 14th, I get a voicemail from Salzman telling me Capitol Police is on their way to her office and she’s filing a report, she has the state attorney on speed dial and that I won’t be back to the capitol.”
Copies of those emails are on the Epoch Times site.
Circling the Wagons
Rep. Salzman’s attack against the RNHA is vile and reeks of a corrupt party establishment that’s trying to circle the wagons. The fact that Rep. Salzman’s office has threatened the RNHA, including Capitol Police involvement and prosecution, is unquestioningly wrong. She has attempted to bully the RNHA because the video airs the truth about where Florida’s Republican legislative leadership really stands on the matter of constitutional carry.
Additionally, word in the capitol is that the RNHA is now being blacklisted and will not be heard in any committee meeting when legislation is being discussed and public comments can take place.
If the RNHA is being blacklisted, that’s damning on many levels and reminds me of what my family experienced in Cuba, where a person can be labeled as a political dissident and made an “unperson,” silenced from all public interactions with their community and government.
When contact by a reporter, Rep. Salzman denied threatening anyone . . .
“As you can see, [Avila] is trying to rally up support over something that was a simple voicemail request to hand over the name of the persons in attendance of the meeting as requested by law enforcement,” Salzman wrote further. “I have not threatened anyone with anything. I was TRYING to keep him out of the conversation with the Capitol Police because I honestly thought he [w]as a decent guy. Obviously, I was wrong. Have a great day.”
Watch the video and read the communications from Rep. Salzman’s office, then judge for yourself.
Luis Valdes is the Florida Director of Gun Owners of America.
Man, they do get ugly when you shine a light on em, eh?!
This is what happens when people like michelle salzman were not asked the right questions prior to an election. RINOs like her wind up getting your vote by fraud and then stab you in the back over what boils down to wearing a coat over a firearm or having one in a purse, etc.
Then comes the very same RINOS holding hands with democRats who concoct liability requirements for gun owners who are forced by concealed carry law to leave their firearm in a vehicle while they shop, etc. You cannot wear a coat and if you do you go to jail. If a criminal breaks into your vehicle and steals your firearm you are held liable for what the criminal did.
Frankly michelle salzman and the rest of the plantation staff members can go pound sand…”Valdes Is Coming.” (1971 Movie Valdez Is Coming:)
All Republicans hate guns and gun owners. You just make constant excuses for their bad behavior. Tell us again how great Trump was on guns. Perhaps Reagan too.
It is regrettable how brainwashed the conservative Republican cult is, I had hoped they would be able to see through the BS but apparently not.
I think many of them have been successfully duped by the right wing’s use of identity politics, you can hear it at the rallies when they chant “Jews will not replace us!”and “blood und soil!” as they march with their torches.
fyi
Documented here on TTAG are President Trumps small step by step actions, that moved us in the right direction to get our rights back. This is just one example.
“Trump Administration Eases Small Arms Export Rules, Kills Gunsmith Registration Tax”
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/trump-administration-eases-small-arms-export-rules-kills-gunsmith-registration-tax/
If Trump runs for the presidency again I will vote for him. You on the other hand can vote for Hillary Clinton. I’m sure she and the Democrats will legalize drugs for you.
Unfortunately Libertarian Liberal and Leftist gun owners are never going to support Donald Trump. Because the Second Amendment it’s as important to them. As drug legalization is.
And yes I am disappointed with President Trumps bump stock Fiasco. But then I’m also disappointed with the ”gun community”. Who never really supported bump stocks in the first place. Because the “gun community” doesn’t support having 200 to 300 million new, low cost “machine gun” owners in this country.
The democrats are already giving out “free” crack pipes.
Did Libertarians Justin Amash or Jeff Flake introduce legislation to abolish the AFT like Republican Marjorie Taylor Green did??
If they did I didn’t hear about it.
I think that Rep. Salzman would scurry under the kitchen fridge, when you turned on the lights. If she fits, that is.
“It’s a big club and you ain’t in it” a wise man once said.
Between the geriatrics who somehow lived their entire lives not understanding this and the new generations of suckers being born all the time buying into “change” and “hope” sloganeering I’m not sure enough people will ever realize politicians are worthless thieves on psychotic power trips to really make any actual difference.
Except that carlin was in the club. He was worth millions and owned many properties. He got rich pretending he was a poor sclub like the rest of his audience.
Don’t get me started on john lennon. For a guy that imagined no possessions he owned quite a bit and married the daughter of one of Japans richest bankers.
I cannot count how many times over the years I’ve told people who praise his song Imagine to actually listen to (or better, read) the lyrics. They sum up the mantra of the Great Reset being foisted upon the world today:
“You will own nothing and you will be happy.”
FWIW, the Beatles were before my time, but I liked their music. Never liked Lennon or his solo material.
Amen to what you said about Imagine. It’s a love song for atheism, communism, and one world government. Catchy melody, needs new lyrics.
“Imagine there’s no liberals…”
He had a rolls royce seized by the government for not paying taxes. He was a prime example of Communism, or rather its flaws.
Yup. And that’s why the visionary Founders tried so hard to establish a ‘limited’ government in the beginning with as few professional liars–oops, I mean politicians– as possible. Unfortunately that didn’t work out…and here we are, today, with way more guv than Luv.
RINO’S are as, if not more insidious than democrats. Primary the #$&*%.
And after that stunt, its going to be a loonnnnggggg time before you see constitutional carry in Florida.
We were never going to see it anyway, along with any pro-gun legislation. Damn RINOs. This is actually a problem WITH term limits – they feel like they can do whatever they want, and the threat of primary’ing them out is negated. In the end, they go higher up the food chain or they become a paid lobbyist.
And just groom their successors sooner.
Yep, that is pretty much what she said in the video. I will support it but you have to wait til the people who voted for a train wreak of a bill to die off first. This “stunt” only revealed what 95% of people already knew, nothing more, nothing less.
Hoo-boy, it sucks to be you right now, Ms. Salzman.
One suspects her “outrage” is not so much about being exposed as a hypocrite on constitutional carry, but that she was caught on film criticizing her political masters in the leadership. She’s in deep doo-doo.
Yahtzee
Bueno
The G O P are their own worst enemy.
RINO’s as far as the eye can see.
As much as I want to side with the citizens here, I don’t see anything wrong with what the Rep said. She was honest and it comes down to politics. Now someone recorded their meeting without her knowledge and she was rightfully pissed and went HAM on them. That’s what they get. Sounds like a bunch of amateurs over their heads crying like babies.
t…Never mind your crybaby finger pointing…You were play for a fool. Once she said she wasn’t going against the “bear” in the Republican leadership based on professional courtesy she threw citizens under the bus. In other words all it took was a breeze to bring her down to her cowardly knees. I hate to rain on your parade of wishful thinking but by her own scattered words and forked tongue she proved herself not to be worth spit.
Eat a turd…. you fool…
Hot take…
Rightfully pissed?! Only if you think that the groundlings have no right to know what their “masters” are saying or doing. Go lick boots somewhere else.
The rep is obviously feeling serious heat from the RINO leadership for spilling the beans.
I guess the real question is: How do we separate the Florida Republican leadership from the tourism industry money? The blue bloods in Miami are not the ones actually stopping constitutional carry. It’s Disney, Universal, the cruse lines and major hotel chains that are providing the money to stop constitutional carry.
“It’s Disney, Universal, the cruse lines and major hotel chains that are providing the money to stop constitutional carry“
Sorry boys, but you Republicans took it all the way to the Supreme Court where the citizens United decision cleared the way for billions in corporate donations, remember “money is speech”, “corporations are people”?
And now the Republicans are hoist on their own petard…
And how’s that whole Dunham investigation going, hasn’t that investigation been ongoing longer than the Mueller probe it is investigating in the first place?
Did you guys mange to charge Hillary with espionage or something?
minor49iq…Besides you spending waaaay too much time in cheap motels watching the CNN corporate porn that canned zucker The Wheels Of Justice Grind Slowly. If you were keeping up with the Durham Investigation and not the stick a fork in it Dunham Investigation you would know things are moving forward and not running into a brick wall like mueller et al. Try again…boy.
“If you were keeping up with the Durham Investigation and not the stick a fork in it Dunham Investigation”
Oh, sorry I got the name wrong, so it’s the Durwood investigation, OK got it.
So which members of the Obama administration have been charged with espionage?
Exactly what did Derwood charge Hillary Clinton with, something about mismanaging top-secret documents?
Was it her who took 15 boxes of ‘Top Secret’ and ‘SI’ documents when she left office?
I’d like to see Constitutional Carry pass in Florida. I won’t ever open carry myself, but it shouldn’t be illegal. Wait. Let me qualify. I won’t open carry on the street. You’ll know I have a firearm when I choose for you to know. When I’m assing around in the woods or on the water? Been doing that since I was sixteen and that’s legal anyway.
Luis, if you’re at Talon this afternoon you may see my son. He’ll be the young man shooting the 1903 Springfield, K98k in 8mm and a M1A. A few handguns. Good luck on C.C. Write some more articles on vintage handguns.
Gadsden Flag,
I’m on the south end of our state right now. So Talon is a bit of a drive.
You kid has good tastes!
I have some vintage gun reviews in the works. It is just that session has taken priority.
I understand. Maybe I’ll meet you on the 22nd.
Luis, one more thing. Thanks for the comment on John.
“professional courtesy”…Rep. Salzman do you represent the people in your District or only your amigos in the State’s Good Old Boys Club?
You should read T. Roosevelt’s 1910 Citizenship in a Republic speech wherein he talks about the Man-in-the-Arena. You should be the Woman-in-the-Arena for your constituents…dare greatly, scale new heights and place your reputation on the line for the People in your District.
1) what would happen if she DID go against her GOP leadership and started pushing for this? Would it accomplish anything worth doing? Would it make the situation worse?
This sounds to me like the interview was with the wrong person.
2) why was she recorded? Why was this done without her consent? To catch her in a potential lie? Why were they even talking to her?
It really doesn’t sound to me like she has the power to make or break the decision?
She is a representative of the people. Why does one need consent? In this day and age if you are not aware that anything you do or say could be recorded, you’re a fool.
I’m not sure exactly going to disagree. I will say that she had every reason to expect to be told prior to being recorded. Regardless of what you might think of her personally or professionally, she does still have rights too.
Being an elected official does mean she must answer to the American people and specifically to her constituents. I’m not disagreeing with that at all. I’m saying this is on par with following people into a restroom with mics and cameras.
But that doesn’t really answer my questions.
The picture indicates the phone or camera was at the end of the table where she sat. All she had to do was look down the table, see the phone or camera and voice an objection. Besides she has stated she is not ashamed for what she said, so what’ the real problem? One thing for sure, she does not represent “We the People” and the problem is that she got caught showing her true self.
@Hush
“All she had to do was look”
Lol
That’s all ANYONE needs to do. There is plenty of reason to reject Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, CNN, Apple, Dicks, TikTok…well you know the thing
Apparently that’s not good enough.
What I heard was that she is FOR gun rights but she won’t fight. This is the reason for what I asked initially.
What if she did?
Usually, I’d they know they’d be recorded. They never tell the truth.
Prndll,
You OBVIOUSLY didn’t read the article. It was a PUBLIC meeting (no expectation of privacy). They recorded her VERY appropriately, and any citizen that meets with a lying dog of a politican and DOESN’T record their lies for posterity is a nitwit. She lied, she got caught. Any lawyer worth a damn will tell you, in ANY police interaction, record the whole damn thing. Police in many jurisdictions are supposed to wear body cams. Amazing how often those body cams “don’t work” or the tape is “lost” or “accidentally erased” when the bust was bogus or the cops overstepped their authority.
Any public servant (the world’s most obvious oxymoron) who doesn’t want to be recorded is admitting who and what they are.
End the idiotic, judge-made doctrine of “qualified immunity”, allow civil suits against individual cops, and if the cop is judgement-proof, allow the money to be collected out of the police pension fund (THAT will get cops to police their own).
New Jersey with Palm trees. Par for the course down here. With only 40 senators for 21 million people, good luck getting anything substantial through. DeSantis could have pushed it and he failed.
Go RINO hunting in November. Don’t forget or leave out DeSantis.
Peter, that was an ignorant thing to say.
“A jew, all you need to know. 🙂”
So what do you think about the Republican state leadership she is supporting?
Aren’t they all Christian white boys?
And it is wrong for a Jew politician to support Christian white boy politicians?
You know, I will never understand you conservatives fully, sometimes you seem to just hate for the fun of it.
Could be. Meanwhile, Democrats hate because it’s in their blood.
Pro slavery
Started the KKK and supported it
Opposed women’s right to vote
Couldn’t pass civil rights without Republicans
Need I say more?
Damn! Lot of racist BS being spewed.
Here is the right question: will you enforce the Constitution against government officials and put up a bond equal to all your personal assets to guarantee that you wil uphold your Oath of office.
Let that be a lesson: if you REALLY want to play politics, you have to give something to get something from politicians. And giving a politician grief isn’t it.
Let me be perfectly clear: if you want something from politicians, you have to give them something, like HUGE campaign donations, extensive public flattery, huge numbers of votes, or even good old fashioned payola.
The group in this article gave their politician grief rather than donations, flattery, votes, or payola. And their politician will reward them with grief.
That’s all they were getting to begin with, so nothing gained, but nothing lost. Well, one thing gained, maybe: we know one more who’s a snake for sure.
Correct. My dad was a state judge. In a meeting with other judges, they were talking about getting a raise. They decided to approach an elected state representative. My dad said, hey I’ve known my representative for years. I go to church with him. My dad talked to him and said the judges would like a raise. Dad said the rep laughed. The rep said get your group to hire a lobbyist, and have the lobbyist ask me. So they went that route and got their raise. That’s how the game is played.
“hire a lobbyist“
That’s politician speak for paying a bribe.
The salary isn’t much for a state rep, but the “perks” really add up.
What you say is true, but that makes them whores doesn’t it. They have already been paid to stand up and represent the people that elected and to defend the constitution. it’s called a salary.
“What you say is true, but that makes them whores doesn’t it. ”
Not really. With whores you get what you pay for. Politicians don’t stay bought”.
Politicians are genetically closer to extortionists.
Sam,
Because he passed this week, the timiing is appropriate, but you should REALLY read P.J. O’Rourke’s “Parliament of Whores”. He nailed it.
Then there’s always his famous quote: “Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.”
No one becomes a state rep for the salary. They often have other jobs.
Another political whore.
She wrote that she was not ashamed of what she said. So then what is the problem?
“Party before principle.”
Long standing, and successful, bulwark of politics.
With ~100 million fun owners, all the name brand anti-gun control organizations should be swimming in funding for defending the Second Amendment. Truth is, 2A is not the most important matter in the minds of the voting majority. If you saw every issue you care about being legislated into existence, but there was no support for defending 2A, would you vote against your elected officials, or refuse to vote at all?
Politicians (elected or appointed) don’t win re-election based on a record of “principled” voting that fails. When a politician who is unfaithful to the constitution is elected, it means your message to the politicians wasn’t strong enough to merit attention; not enough voters endorse your ideas. As always, the problem lies with us.
RNHA is now being blacklisted and will not be heard in any committee meeting when legislation is being discussed and public comments can take place.
Is the making of public comments considered a right or a revocable privilege?
If they did that to March
against our rightsFor Our Lives, BLM would physically prevent the hearings from taking place, and the mainstream media would loudly cheer them on.We’ve had the same shit as this here in Indiana every session of the General Assembly over the last several years — and still can’t get CC passed even with a SUPER MAJORITY in BOTH HOUSES! On top of that, a mealy-mouthed RINO Governor, Eric Holcomb, who’s watering at the mouth to run for the Senate. These bastards all talk a great game come campaign time, but they claim they have to listen to the police unions and the Superintendent of the State Police (a political appointee). It makes me sick.
nothing new here.
It left up to the voters, now.
Did well for a former stripper.
I assume all ‘pubs are rino’s until proven otherwise. They typically dont surprise me.
From Epoch Times:
“As you can see, he is trying to rally up support over something that was a simple voicemail request to hand over the name of the persons in attendance of the meeting as requested by law enforcement,” Salzman wrote further. “I have not threatened anyone with anything. I was TRYING to keep him out of the conversation with the Capitol Police because I honestly thought he [w]as a decent guy. Obviously, I was wrong. Have a great day.”
If LE wanted to know who was there, you could have forwarded LE’s contact info to Avila and not inserted yourself into the middle of communications between Avila and LE.
So, yet another of your explanations reeks of bovine excrement. What else is new?
“I was TRYING to keep him out of the conversation with the Capitol Police because I honestly thought he [w]as a decent guy. Obviously, I was wrong. Have a great day.”
A more likely explanation: Angry that they (lawfully) recorded you behind your back, you tried to secretly sic Capitol security on them behind their backs. And when the enforcers asked you “who did this thing which you claim was a crime?”, you didn’t know, and proceeded to try to find out in your own sneaky fashion. It wasn’t done out of concern for Avila’s feelings, it was out of concern for keeping RNHA in the dark about your attempt to have them investigated and/or arrested.
@LampOfDiogenes
“Because he passed this week, the timiing is appropriate, but you should REALLY read P.J. O’Rourke’s “Parliament of Whores”. ”
Thanx for the recommendation !
“Getting re-elected does not make you a better politician…….
it makes you a better criminal.”
I’m glad this tape came out. Now go vote accordingly when the time comes. I hope her office is flooded with letters asking for her resignation.
Time for the ballot box option on this one.
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