A TTAG reader who wishes to remain anonymous writes:
I just got off the phone with Senator Greg Steube’s office. Tomorrow is the Judiciary Committee meeting. The open carry bill, SB 140, is not on the agenda. The Senator’s legislative assistant Alex Blair stated that the good Senator will not place it on the agenda for this meeting or any future meeting until such time there is a “better political climate.”
Once again, Florida open carry and campus carry are dead in the water. Even if HB 6005 (campus carry) passes the House, SB 140 was the related bill. Without SB 140 clearing the Judiciary Committee; it can’t reach a floor vote.
I directly asked the LA if there is a chance Sen. Steube will bring it to the agenda or if it is dead in the water. The LA said that it is dead in the water and will not be reaching a floor vote this year.
So we can do one of two things. Either hang our heads in shame or press on and push harder. We’re damn close. The political stars have aligned and we need to ride the wave.
Next year will not happen. 2018 is an election year and because of that they will not push open carry or campus carry. Furthermore I fear we will get a Democrat in office as a Governor. Rick “Skeletor” Scott beat Charlie “Suntan” Crist by 1%. That’s it…one freaking percentage point. So I believe we either go all in this year or we gain nothing at all because of next year.
I’m asking if you can post this information and rally your readers to call and email the Florida Speaker of the House, the Florida Senate President, and Sen. Steube’s Office.
Sen. Greg Steube (FL Judiciary Committee Chair and author of SB 140 Open Carry)
https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/s23
District Office
722 Apex Road Unit A
Sarasota, FL 34240
(941) 342-9162
Tallahassee Office
326 Senate Office Building 404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
(850) 487-5023
Sen. Joe Negron (Senate President)
https://www.flsenate.gov/Offices/President
https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/s25
District Office
3500 Southwest Corporate Parkway Suite 204
Palm City, FL 34990
(772) 219-1665
FAX (772) 219-1666
Toll Free (888) 759-0791
Tallahassee Office
305 Senate Office Building 404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
(850) 487-5025
Senate President Staff Office
404 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
Phone: (850) 487-5229
Rep. Richard Corcoran (FL Speaker of the House)
https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/details.aspx?MemberId=4503
District Office
Suite 101 17953 Hunting Bow Circle
Lutz, FL 33558-5375
Phone: (813) 792-5177
Capitol Office
420 The Capitol 402 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300
Phone: (850) 717-5037.
What pisses me off is the fact that the Republican Party has a super majority in state government. We control the House, we control the Senate, we control the Governor’s office. We control all the committee and subcommittees. Yet the fucking Florida GOP still does this.
Last year it was Senator Diaz de la Portilla (R) who killed it by keeping it in committee, never bringing it to agenda, and letting the 2016 Legislative Session end without it getting to a floor vote.
In 2011 it was Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff (R) who killed it by adding an amendment to SB 234 that stripped open carry from the open carry bill. It was voted Yes – 26 to No – 11. The Florida GOP controlled both the House and Senate in 2011.
Now, I’m not saying Sen. Stuebe is purposely killing open carry. He’s been very vocal about it and when he was in the Florida House he submitted bills for open carry. But I am saying that as a whole, the Florida GOP is downright against us having open carry.
We need to press the attack and not let up. We need to light up their emails, phones, and offices. The Speaker of the House is ducking my calls and emails and won’t meet with me now. Neither will the Senate President. As I said, I personally take time off every year during session and committee meetings to campaign for gun rights. And so far this year…has been the worst.
Bunch of god damn RINO’s down there have infected the legislature, time to kick them out!
They’re not RINO’s, they’re politicians, and politicians are statists. Perhaps if these politicians were conservatives, which is not the same as a Republican, then there may be a chance, but they are priests for the Church of The State. They bow down and get prostrate to The State, say prayers and burn incense and sacrifice our rights to the alter of The State.
Okay, Omer gets it. That’s at least two of us.
Thanks for the quick response
It’s a shame that the mere election of a democrat predictably means 2a rights are infringed
Why?
Democrats have been about gun control for around 150 years.
My concern is that by passing Open Carry laws in Florida we’ll end up enciting the liberals to lobby for Florida to adopt the same law as Texas that allows businesses to post legally enforceable signs banning *concealed* carry (and open carry).
They’ll claim they want a way to legally prevent someone from entering their establishment carrying *openly*. Current laws allow anyone to ignore the sign and wait to be told to leave. There’s no law against ignorning the sign.
Open Carry would be great but it could lead to other restrictions that the general public deem “reasonable” because they don’t know any better. Jon Gutmacher posted an article awhile back about how this could all go down from a legal point of view.
https://orlandocriminallawyer.blogspot.com/2015/10/floridas-open-carry-of-firearms-weapons.html
Red Herring. FOURTY-FIVE other states have Open Carry (30 without and 15 with permit), and while yes, a very few do allow signs that carry the force of law, most do not.
Not a red herring. If it happened to handful of states, it could happen to us. It just means we need smart enough legislators to get the law right the first time and anticipate problems that might occur after passing it so we don’t end up like Texas. If they screw up, we suffer. I am not a lawyer and need to trust them that the bills are written correctly.
I would really like the right to carry openly in Florida but I’d also like the politicians to do their job right. Half the time it sounds like they have no real understanding or experience with guns. Even those who vigoursly support our 2nd amendments rights sound like idiots half the time.
Reasonable fear. However, using that fear as a way to see the silver lining in this dark cloud doesn’t do any of us any favors.
While properly displayed (30.06 and 30.07) signs do have the force of law in Texas, it seems to be a dwindling problem.
Many Texans view them as “your civil rights are not respected here” signs and assuch, many businesses that posted them at first have taken them down when the predicted Blood in the Streets didn’t happen and their customers let the managers know they were taking their money elsewhere. Maybe I just don’t get out much, but 30.06 and 30.07 signs are a rare sight for me.
I’ll admit that I don’t know the first thing about the reality of Texas. This is really good to hear.
The “blood in the streets” people are the folks I am worried about causing a knee jerk reaction in Florida.
My daughter and son-in-law live in Austin, so I visit there frequently. Even in liberal Austin, I can’t recall ever seeing a 30.06 sign (No concealed carry.) I have seen a few 30.07 signs (No open carry) but I think that is just to keep the gun muggles calm.
Florida is good for knee jerk reactions that aren’t well thought out. I work in the Nuclear world and it’s even worse here. Thank god this industry is regulated by the NRC or else there would be unarmed 90 year old ladies defending the plant from terrorists.
I’ve just reached out to Tom lee to please remind that fucking Steube that inaction has consequences too. That sorry son of a bitch.
WT actual F?!?! Come on. What’s the damned hold up this year? I’m not blaming Stube, but who is threatening him?
I’m blaming Stuebe.
Just like I blamed Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Coral Gables (good riddance).
Somebody should point out that what was done to de la Portilla can be done to Stuebe. We’ll have to wait a few years for that opportunity, and I bet Greg is counting on us having short memories.
If it’s NOT his fault, he needs to tell us whose fault it IS. Not even putting on the schedule? That’s sneaky, behind-the-scenes political nonsense. Until I hear otherwise, it’s his fault.
Too many politicians in Florida are bought and paid for by special interests in the tourism industry. Those interests *cough*Disney*cough* are fearful that openly-carried firearms will spook potential visitors. Make no mistake, there is a lot of quiet, behind-the-scenes opposition to open carry, backed by some serious money (and the threat of withholding money to politicians).
All politicians are bought and paid for. Could it be any other way?
As noted above, 45 other states allow open carry. So make sure you tell your state pols that tourists from LITERALLY 90% of our states are already used to seeing it, and in all my years of OC I have only had 1 or 2 negative interactions, vs. hundreds or thousands of positive looks, comments, thumbs-up, etc. from others.
Beat them over the head with the truth until they have no choice but to believe it! There’s nothing worse than deliberately ignorant politicians – except for those who are bought and paid for… Keep up the good fight.
Tourism conquers all in Florida. It even conquers the Second Amendment.
You are correct sir. It is one thing to see someone sporting a Ruger Redhawk at the Phin Deli in Buford and something else to see it at a Suwanee Swifty in Buena Vista. I’ll take reciprocity over open carry if I have to make a choice.
Ralph is correct.
I guarantee you that Disney, the other parks, plus Florida’s hotel and home rental association/s SCREAMED bloody murder (quietly behind closed doors) and told Florida’s key senators and representatives, in no uncertain terms, to squash open carry or else …
Hoplophobic tourists from the Northeast and Europe spend billions of dollars in Florida every year. There is no way that Florida’s tourist industry is going to risk losing 10s of thousands of tourists (and the corresponding millions or billions of dollars that they would spend) over some quaint idea about carrying a firearm in plain view.
Scott has been a real good governor. If a democrat beats him it’s all because of partisan politics. I doubt it though. Trump got Florida by a comfortable margin by Florida standards.
I was just thinking Florida has a two term limit for Governor. So Scott is on his last leg and is rumored to be thinking about running for the senate. Yep we maybe screwed here in the Gunshine state.
Yup, two term limit.
And yes, there’s a solid chance a Dem could win the Governorship.
The leading candidate at this time is the slip-and-fall lawsuit mill king, John ‘For The People’ Morgan.
Morgan’s 20+ years of saturation advertising for his ‘firm’ gives him universal voter recognition down here:
https://www.forthepeople.com/
“Scott has been a real good governor.”
Um, no. No he hasn’t. Thank goodness we have term limits. And maybe you’ve seen some of the childish BS our republican majority legislature has pulled. Bunch of fvcking spoiled frat boys. God how I hate frat boys.
Only Liberals hate the Governor. Thanks for your input, Liberal.
You like fitting people into your neat little preconceived boxes, don’t you? Run along now.
I suspect this is a Governer decision. He will be running for Senate in 2018. He wants to be known as the “Jobs” Governer, which is very uncontroversial. An Open Carry fight is the last thing he wants.
Vote Republican! LOL
Where is the NRA on this one?? You mean they don’t have enough political juice in the state with all those republicans? This shouldn’t even be a question. Politicians all SUCK!
They have Marrion Hammer. The problem is she’s outlived her usefulness as a true agent for the 2nd Amendment. She now folds with the RINOs. in 2011 she pulled a very similar game. She’s entrenched and hard to get rid of.
Right now there is some grass roots level work to either replace her outright or simply cast her aside.
The NRA plays the game of balancing both sides. They are better than nothing, but they are FAR from the pointy end of the spear.
“Once again, Florida open carry and campus carry are dead in the water.”
And that is the first problem. Separate open carry and campus carry. I honestly believe the campus carry has a much better chance of passing than open carry in Florida.
There is still a ‘chance’ (although VERY slim due to all the libs in the Fl Supreme Court) that open carry will come through the courts. There is a case that has already been argued before the FSC saying that the limited places where you are allowed to open carry do not meet the 2nd amendment right of bearing arms if a person does not have a CCL. We’re just waiting to hear the ruling. I’m hoping they don’t screw us like the courts did in Ca by saying that since you can get a CCL you don’t need to have open carry.
LOL
The FLSC will rule against it. If you actually watched and listened to the arguments during the trial you’d already see the writing on the wall for that one.
In FL, our only hope is through legislative Action. The Courts are dead seat against it.
Is this the same Court that stripped the guts out of the stand your ground law by placing the burden of proof on the accused? Guilty until proven innocent when guns are involved.
I wouldn’t hold your breath if I were you.
Gunshine State my arse. We have all kinds of restrictions down here. No open carry – one of a very, very small handful of states. All kinds of “gun free zones”… no carry in bars, clubs, or sections of restaurants selling booze… no carry in any school including at school bus stops… no carry at sporting events… no carry anywhere in airports. If you don’t have a concealed weapons license, you have waiting period when purchasing guns. And to get a license, you need to pay for training; and the license is expensive… all for the PRIVILEGE of carrying.
If this doesn’t get passed this year, I don’t know when it will. This state is turning more red every year and the so-called Republicans in South FL are all RINOs. Steube… unless you call out the specific reason why this is going to die in committee, people are going to blame YOU. So it’s time to OUT the political shenanigans going on behind the scene and inform the general public what the REAL reason is for this. I had so much faith after Steube was willing to speak up after that piece of terrorist garbage shot up the airport baggage area. He was willing to call out the fallacy of gun free zones. Now this?
Emailed all three – including one thanking Corcoran for voting in favor of OC last year and asking him to exert whatever influence he has over Steube.
Why is it we vote for these people if they don’t have the fortitude of mind to take that scary step forward when it comes down to the line? They wouldn’t bloody wield this authority if it weren’t for us in the first place. If this proves true — and knowing this state — it will, I’m going to heavily reconsider my support for all those involved.
Corcoran vote for OC last year, and he’s not interfering with it this year. It’s the Senate that’s the problem.
Fact is as long as the CCW permit is used in Florida the laws will never change. I say Florida needs to become a constitutional carry state. As well as the whole nation. Wasn’t that long ago, as for the wild west propaganda… The wild west wasn’t even the wild west. People watch too much TV. The most violent town in Colorado had a high 17 deaths per year. Chicago bears that record almost daily.
infringed again!
The Tourism Argument is bunk. 45 other states have Open Carry. The visitors from those states have to give up their Open Carry in order to come here. I live near the GA border and do my best to go up to Valdosta to do all my shopping, and spend as little money in Floriduh as possible.
Further, because of The Mouse, many foreigners come here to check the Gun Tourism thing off their Bucket list at the same time, only to find it not the gun paradise they imagined.
The cognitive dissonance in this argument needs to be exposed. The backroom deals have paid enough money to convince two State Senators to scuttle their careers and retire. How many more Bluepublicans need to get kicked out before they learn? By all means, Mickey, write another check and let another one step out.
Every time a BS argument is put up, we have to tear it down.
Well now. Looks like the “Pro-Second Amendment” RINOs in the Senate are using last year’s playbook again. This might be the same. BUT WE ARE NOT THE SAME!
There’s something even BETTER than open carry fishing, or an empty holster protest. We are going to do peaceful but IN YOUR FACE (to the lip-service politicians) protests!
The following First Amendment actions are all LEGAL right now under current Florida law.
1. Dust covers (sometimes called “Glock socks”) on OWB holster carried pistols that have a printed picture of a firearm, letting even a casual observer know they are observing an armed citizen.
2. Openly carrying ammo mag carriers or pouches (legal even if part of the mags are showing) is 100% legal. Under Florida law, only the pistol itself must be concealed. You can carry two belts or more of ammo across your shoulders out in the open if you want.
3. Open carry of closeable pistol-shaped holsters such as for the old P38 pistol (new holsters are being made and are for sale at Amazon), that should hold most compact pistols (it almost holds my Glock 23), and are legal to carry openly anywhere licensed concealed carry is allowed, because they fully conceal the gun with a lid.
4. T-shirts with a gun pic stating that you are “Lawfully Armed” or “Licensed and Armed”.
It’s legal to do all the above anywhere firearm carry is not off-limits.
Recommended especially for public property such as public parks, libraries, museums, zoos, etc, where you can’t be trespassed or ejected merely for being armed, due to state preemption.
We have the RIGHT to use our First Amendment Right to Open Carry our firearms in a concealed fashion, beating the crooked, lip-service lawmakers at their own game! So let’s do it everyone!
Let’s EMBARRASS the freedom-hating RINOs, and peacefully and lawfully pee on their tourist dollars for our rights operation! Open carry, or pseudo open carry as outlined above, in actuality should not hurt tourism at all. Where are they going to go, to the 45 states where open carry is legal? Come on, let’s get real.
If you want your rights restored, even if you personally wouldn’t open carry, then please help. If you just want to have that choice, PLEASE spread the above info everywhere you can!
Put it on Facebook, blogs, Internet forums, Youtube comments (or make new videos), online newspaper comments, call it in to radio shows, etc. Let’s get a REAL MOVEMENT going here, where we will be UNSTOPPABLE! Where we will DEMAND our rights and get them! It’s high time we took back the purview of The People!
No MORE backseat for those of us who love FREEDOM!!!