Who would have thought that it would be illegal to defend children from a venomous snake? But this is where the insanity of extreme gun restrictions has brought us. In Florida, a mother was at a football practice when a water moccasin was discovered on the field. Attempts to kill it with sticks weren’t successful. Yes, that’s right . . .
April Dawn DeMarco, 30, was arrested for discharging a .380-caliber handgun on the practice football field of Bay High School, 300 E. 15th St., during practice last week for the local Pop Warner football team. Demarco apparently borrowed the pistol from Miren Gregory, 31, to protect nearby children after a group of parents found a water moccasin on the field, police reported.
Coaches and parents told the children to get out of the area after finding the moccasin. Gregory told DeMarco she had a concealed carry permit and a handgun after some of the coaches tried to kill the snake by hitting it with sticks.
Snakes can be difficult to kill. As this was a football practice field, the snake may have been hiding under equipment on the field. From personal experience, I can say that a firearm is often the only means to stop the threat from a venomous snake in a semi-concealed position.
Here is where the law gets crazy. Even if a person has a concealed carry permit, it’s illegal to possess a firearm on school grounds during a school-related event. The penalty is a misdemeanor.
(d) Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any provision of this subsection commits a misdemeanor of the second degree,
It’s also illegal to discharge a firearm on school grounds, but there is an exception for using a firearm in defense of self or others.
From statute 790.115 2.(d)
(d) A person who discharges any weapon or firearm while in violation of paragraph (a), unless discharged for lawful defense of himself or herself or another or for a lawful purpose, commits a felony of the second degree,
If I were Dawn DeMarco’s attorney, I would certainly be pleading that this was a clear case of defense of others. It does not matter that Dawn missed the snake with the borrowed firearm.
One parent forewarned the women that having a firearm on school grounds was against the law when DeMarco said, “I will take the blame,” the parent told police.
This might be a good test case for reform of the silly gun-free school zone law in Florida. Even the federal gun free school zone law has an exception for those with concealed carry permits. The person who DeMarco borrowed the pistol from was also arrested. It isn’t known if DeMarco had a concealed carry permit.
Gun free school zone laws have been a disaster from the beginning. It is time to stop the idiocy.
©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Gun Watch