Among the raft of bills Florida Governor Rick Scott signed into law today was SB290. As the preamble says, the bill is…
An act relating to carrying a concealed weapon or a concealed firearm; amending s. 790.01, F.S.; providing an exemption from criminal penalties for carrying a concealed weapon or a concealed firearm when evacuating pursuant to a mandatory evacuation order during a declared state of emergency; providing an effective date.
In other words, Floridians fleeing Hurricane Matthew (or any future hellstorms) can take their firearms along with them, concealed, without fear of arrest…for a period of 48 hours. A time period that the Governor may elect to extend.
The law was enacted by the Florida legislature in response to the many post-Katrina Second Amendment abuses visited on Louisiana’s gun owners. It’s a model for other states in the path of potential catastrophic storms. Or earthquakes. Or floods. Or fires. Come to think of it, there’s no good reason every state doesn’t have a version of this law on the books.
So all due props to Governor Scott and Florida’s legispeople. Here’s to the Sunshine State’s citizens making a quick and safe exit from the storm zone with their loved ones and firearms in tow. And if those are one and the same, that’s OK, too.