The Florida House passed an insane new bill regarding guns and riots last week, prompting Cliff Schecter of the Daily Beast to say, “you could call Florida the Grand Ole Opry of gun nuttery.”
He’s not far off. HB 209, a bill that, according to the Miami Herald, “would allow people with clean criminal backgrounds to carry concealed firearms during emergencies declared by the governor or local officials,” including natural disasters, riots and civil unrest. The bill’s backers say the measure will give gun owners the chance to protect their property during disasters.
On the surface, it sort of makes sense. A Tampa Bay Times columnist pointed out that people are actively encouraged to bring their firearms with them when evacuating their homes — but only if the guns are kept in glove compartments or locked cases.
The politics of concealed-carry licensing are rocky to begin with. The Violence Policy Center, a research institute, has stated that resources for comprehensive data on non-self-defense killings by private citizens legally allowed to carry concealed handguns is limited. The organization has maintained a database since May 2007 of each non-self-defense-related concealed-carry killing broken down by state. As of March 11, the count was up to 636 total in the overall U.S.
Proposing a ban on all concealed-carry licensing is extreme. But on the other hand, expanding the rights of gun owners who don’t have concealed-carry permits is just ludicrous. And it’s not as if the bill outlines specific guidelines; if anything, the biggest criticism of the bill is its looseness when it comes to interpretation.
“A key objection is that it’s not clear in the legislation when it’s okay not to have a permit for the concealed firearm,” the Miami Herald reported. “Both bills say no permit is needed for those ‘in the act of complying with a mandatory evacuation order during a declared state of emergency.’
“If someone flees a hurricane and travels several counties over, either to a hotel or relative’s house, at what point are they still evacuating? For how long are they able to claim they are evacuating?”
Another troubling addition to the House version of the guns-and-riots bill is its provision that would allow local officials to declare a state of the emergency — not just the governor.
“There is a reason the state requires permits to carry concealed weapons,” Times columnist John Romano wrote. “Finger prints. Background checks. Photo IDs. Safety classes. A person with a concealed permit has to demonstrate a certain responsibility. Someone joyriding during a riot or a hurricane should not have the same privileges.”
That the bill was championed by the National Rifle Association comes as no surprise, and the question we face now is how long special interests will affect gun policy in Florida.
Hopefully we won’t have to get to 637 to find out.
[A version of this editorial ran on page 6 on 4/14/2014 under the headline "Florida’s guns-and-riots bill cause for worry"]
