Florida seems to be moving in the right direction on guns. They’ve been pretty anti-gun control for a while, with a lapse in judgment in the wake of Parkland, and with open carry now being a thing, one can hope things continue that way.
But Leon County clearly doesn’t want that.
As the county commission considered its legislative wish list for the upcoming session, there’s one issue they say they want really badly. They want gun control.
The Leon County Commission added supporting gun control policy to its state and national lobbying priority list. But it received opposition from some commissioners.
Most commissioners say they want universal background checks, red flag laws, and rules requiring secure gun storage. Commissioner David O’Keefe made the motion to make those a priority.
“They are broadly popular with significant majorities of polling show voters and gun owners support these they’re proven effective, and they don’t impinge on the right of people to responsibly exercise their Second Amendment,” he said.
Commissioners Brian Welch and Christian Caban voted the move. Welch worries about the impact such a stance could have when it comes to getting state dollars from the Republican-controlled legislature.
“We are completely and utterly preempted from doing anything about this issue. I think we can all stand up here to her blue in the face and say, we support common sense gun safety laws, but we just heard our lobbying team tell us, to, quote, try and find alignment on issues where we can find success,” he said.
Other commissioners cited the recent FSU shooting and gun violence in the county as reasons to push for firearm reform.
Please understand that this trash writing isn’t my doing. It’s barely comprehensible in some places, but that’s how it is at the original link. I just copied and pasted it here.
But the overall point is clear enough. Leon County commissioners want gun control from their state, and they’re using the FSU shooting to justify it. As FSU is in Leon County, they’re probably in a better position to try and use that to justify what they wanted in the first place compared to most.
That doesn’t make it any less stupid, though.
First, I’m very skeptical of the claims that most gun owners actually support things like universal background checks. I’ve seen the questions asked in these polls, and they’re generally phrased in a way that many may believe they’re expressing support for the status quo, where licensed dealers have to conduct background checks, but them selling a gun to their brother-in-law doesn’t require one.
But more broadly, they’re deluded if they think the rest of Florida is going to want anything like this.
While the legislature hasn’t been as pro-gun as I’d like to see, they’ve been pretty anti-gun control. There’s not a lot of political will to pass any of this, especially with DeSantis still in charge. They could pass it, and then he’d veto it, and all that time and political capital would be spent on nothing.
Leon County’s lobbying team told them to look where they can find success. This ain’t it, but they’re too thickheaded to recognize that, apparently. The couple who got that, at least, are smarter than the rest, even if I’m annoyed that their entire arguments against it was “this might backfire” and not “this is wrong.”
Still, unlike Leon County, I’ll take what I can get.
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20 Comments
Universal background checks sound reasonable at first glance, but enforcement seems tricky without a national database.
Enforcement would indeed be the biggest hurdle for something like this.
Gun control sounds like a local priority, but is it worth potential backlash from voters?
Gun storage rules might just target law-abiding owners, as criminals won’t comply anyway.
A valid criticism, but perhaps it still reduces accidents.
Red flag laws sound good in theory, but how do they prevent mistakes or abuse by authorities?
Red flag laws have been controversial, but they do seem to have reduced tragedies in some states.
Depends on due process—too many false accusations could be a problem.
Skeptical that these laws would stop determined criminals, but maybe they help in some way.
Interesting to see local governments pushing for stricter gun laws despite the state’s trend. Wonder how this plays out in courts or with Tallahassee.
Maybe Leon County is hoping for a federal solution, given the state’s stance.
Florida’s courts have sided with gun rights frequently—likely an uphill battle for Leon County.
Background checks already exist for sales—what’s the difference with universal ones?
Polling data is often skewed on charged topics like gun control—wonder how accurate their claims are.
Leon County commissioners may be overreaching on what they can actually influence.
Florida’s open carry push was unexpected—now local governments trying to reverse course?
Politics moves in cycles, especially on contentious issues.
Commissioner O’Keefe claims these measures don’t infringe on Second Amendment rights. Do they really not?
What’s the point of secure storage laws when someone can still steal guns from homes or vehicles?
If gun laws work, why don’t we see fewer firearms in the wrong hands in states with strict measures?