Our correspondent on the ground in Florida writes:
Florida Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Greg Steube needs all five Republican votes for Senate Bill 140, which would legalize open carry, to move it forward for a full senate vote. Based on my discussions with Senator Anitere Flores’s staff, she opposes the bill and it is, in effect, dead.
I just spoke with her secretary, Tiffany, in the Senator’s Miami district office and asked her if Flores backs SB140. She told me that Sen. Flores does not back the bill and will not vote for it. I then got a different story when I called the capital.
The Senator’s secretary (who identified herself as an intern) in her Tallahassee office told me, “The Senator does not have an opinion yet and is currently reviewing the bill and how if affects Floridians.” Sounds like Tiffany may have let the cat out of the bag.
As all five Republican votes are needed to offset the four Democrats on the committee, this means that open carry was most likely dead before it even got started this year. Another year of Florida gun rights destroyed by a Republican.
Senator Flores is no friend of gun rights in Florida. If you’ll remember, she’s one of three Republican Senators who sided with the Democrats to call for a special session after the Fort Lauderdale Airport Terror Attack, stating the following:
“We see now, with this latest attack, that we need to take a comprehensive look at gun laws in the state of Florida and find the best way to balance the individual rights of the people to own guns versus public safety.”
TTAG has reached out to Senator Flores’s Tallahassee office for official confirmation that the senator intends to oppose SB140. More as it becomes available.
Four out of the five Republicans who opposed it were hispanic of various flavors. By and large they do not care about the constitutional rights tradition-minded Americans hold dear, whether they belong to the Republican or Democratic parties. To them, stuff like this is just ‘stuff white people like.’
You ever get the feeling that the party needs to be purged every once in a while?
The tree of liberty……..
It thirsts.
Gunshine state, shaking my head.
Unfortunately I am from Florida. I was 17 when I saw my first firearm.
It’s gonna take a whole lot more than the 5 Republicans on this particular committee. I admire this article’s source’s persistence, but he/she is whistling in the wind.
Just answer one question: What is in this issue that would benefit any Republican politician in the State of Florida?
Very little, in my opinion
To make it to the governor’s desk, it will take more.
First, however, it has to get out of this committee, and for that all five Republican politicians on it have to vote for it.
This issue is dead. The cause of death is irrelevant. The Republican politicians already have everything they want in Florida.
When will this come up, again for the next vote?
Waiting for national recognition, accountability and reprocussions for violating the Oath of Office.
People keep voting them in.
Doesn’t help that these RINO’s are in the Mouse’s pocket and voted in by the large amount of invading progtards in Dade county, a big portion of Broward & Palm Beach counties, Hillsborough county, Seminole county, large portion of Orange county, Duval county & Leon county.
http://i65.tinypic.com/2wh1r1h.png
Now *that* is evil.
And funny as hell…
Steube did not need five “republicans”, he needed five pro-gun rights votes.
I learned long ago, “politics is politics, and all politics is local”. At the end of 2017, the election nonsense begins again. there is only the remainder of this year to get things done. If it appears that a bill will get to the governor and be killed (because the sponsors do not have veto-proof support), then it is a hollow legislative victory. That hollow victory can be used against you in a re-election campaign. Not every battle is worth fighting, every time, every day, every where. Pick the ones you can afford to lose.
Another feature (very overlooked) of politics is that labels matter for fund-raising, but not much else. There is a convenient notion that there are only two major parties. Each party has a label. We like to assign one party or the other our own value, because it is convenient. Then we get bent out of shape because “our party” doesn’t really reflect our ideals. Parties are made of individuals. Supporting individuals makes more sense than supporting a party label. On the one side, people ascribe “conservative”, “traditional” values to a party that is labeled neither “Conservative”, nor “Traditional Values”. The parties are a mere convenience for individual politicians, as the moment dictates their best interest. Why else do we see people leave one party, and go to another? Is it possibly because those individual office holders saw a better chance to get elected by changing? If you get an overwhelming majority of individual elected officials to reflect your values, the party label they commandeer for purposes of election campaigns actually means not much of anything. Change the individuals, and by default you change “the party”.
Yet another reason for the NRA to email all its members and beg for more money….meanwhile, so called Republicans in Florida are anti-firearm rights dems that fooled the voters, period. The party should be tossing these fools publicly. Are there no other requirements for party affiliation other than the politician “identifying” as such? If the people of Florida care, they’ll flood the local offices and demand answers in person. Show them who’s the boss…but they won’t. Sad.
I’ve realized a long time ago that gun rights enthusiasts, much less open carry enthusiasts, are a minuscule percentage of the population. Hanging out in echo chambers, such as TTAG, insulates from this reality.
Right. It was just coincidence that over a million guns were sold in California last year. A minuscule percentage of the population each bought a thousand guns. Yeah. That’s it. It’s just happenstance that over fifteen million people have bought and paid for carry permits in the forty or so states that require them and issue them.
Working at McDonalds does not make you a hamburger, anymore than buying a gun makes you a second amendment enthusiast.
Given the menu of liberals, progressives, leftists, statists, buying a gun is only one item. True believers will sacrifice your gun rights in order to forward the rest of the agenda (but they will keep their gun because you are not possessed of the quality of character that permits you to have hold of such a deadly weapon). If they must choose between further control over others and letting others have guns, they will vote for control every time.
A purchase tells you nothing of the politics inside.
Owning a gun does not make one bleed gunpowder.
Actually people who support the second amendment ARE the majority in this country, and that’s what makes this so sad. With Latino socialists disguised as Republicans in more states, we have to be vigilant lest those little pinko third world transplants take over like la cockroaches, si!
“Support” does not equal bleeding gunpowder.
Poseur = progtard troll… don’t feed the troll.
Poseur is a realist. Go to any public space where crowds gather. Start asking random people if they are down to rumble with the government over gun rights. 1 in 500 maybe. 1 in a 1000?
Poseur is the polar opposite of prog.
“Another year of Florida gun rights destroyed by a Republican.”
Mathematically and demonstrably incorrect. It was four Democrats and one Republican who refused to acknowledge the Second Amendment.
Gun rights get destroyed by voters who elect gun-grabbing politicians, regardless their party affiliation. Voters need to elect fewer of them.
In the long run, we get the government we deserve.
Curtis: you don’t know shit about Florida.
Republicans control the state level of politics. This is a leadership decision.
Gosh, I was under the impression that those “Republicans” who control the state’s politics were elected by voters.
Sorry for the error.
You should be sorry. The person you replied to was exactly correct. It was a leadership problem. She didn’t get elected to the judiciary committee, she was appointed to it by the Republican leadership of the Florida senate. If you have a rogue Republican, you don’t put them on important committees, you put them somewhere they can’t do too much harm.
Somebody voted for the “rogue Republican,” and somebody voted for the “leadership” that appointed her. Elections have consequences.
Curtis. Again, you don’t know shit about Florida politics. All in all, these guys run the state pretty well. We got plenty of gun rights. Of course we can do better. But we can do a whole lot worse.
Unless you vote democrat, it’s useless to talk about them in this context. You know that they’ll vote anti-gun, it’s what their constituency wants.
But when the republicans have the votes and still fail, that’s interesting. Because gun rights is one of those issues the GOP runs on and says “vote for us and we’ll fix this!” Then they get into office with a majority and suddenly…
What we have here is what’s known as a RINO. They attach themselves to the party because that’s what it takes to get elected where they live. Don’t make this more complicated than it is.
There are also DINOs. Example: Milwaukee County, WI Sheriff David Clarke. He pretends to be a Democrat because he’s in Milwaukee.
Both are living proof of lazy voters.
Unfortunately I believe Sam’s description of politics is correct. Politicians as a whole, regardless of party can only be trusted to do ONE thing, and that is to vote for their own self interests. And only ‘sometimes’ that it is in OUR interests.
After this many tries in the Fl legislature I’m thinking open carry as a single issue is kaput. We hung our hats on incrementalism at the behest of those who convinced us that they knew politics best, and it was the best way forward.
Perhaps it is now time to re-brand our thrust and go all out for Constitutional Carry in this state and push for individual Liberty vs slavery to the state. No more just those icky gun owners wanting to show off their genitals. Push for the RESTORATION of our guaranteed rights instead of crumbs from our political masters. Let those politicians who want to oppose us do so by coming out in public against Liberty and FOR oppression.
I smell pure politics here. It sounds to me like most Republicans oppose campus carry and open carry in Florida. But they don’t want to vote against campus and open carry in Florida and lose their Second Amendment voting base. Neither do they want to vote for campus and open carry in Florida and lose their Tourism voting base. So, behind closed doors, Republicans instruct the committee to kill the bill. Then the only “bad guy” is a single Republican on the committee who failed to vote to move the bill forward: Senator Anitere Flores.
Meanwhile, all the other Republicans (and even Democrats) in the state can say, “Don’t look at me … I didn’t kill that bill.”
Be careful about looking behind the curtain. Disappointment abounds.
It’s not disappointment behind the curtain but disgust. See “making sausage”.
You are correct, uncommon, for once ?
Miami
This nonsense is so tiring. The entire purpose of our form of government is to take the power OUT of the hands of just a couple of people. Low and behold, it just takes one to play politics, cross party lines, or take advantage of procedural roadblocks to not even allow these bills to see the light of day.
FOR CRYING OUT LOUD… LET THE SENATE VOTE. If you don’t want it to pass, then make your case to the full senate during debate. But let the stinking thing be voted upon so the whole body of the representatives can make the voice of their constituency heard. The makeup of some committee is NOT representative of the will of the body of the people. If a couple of clowns are so afraid of letting it out of committee, that just goes to show that the will of the people is being circumvented. If it didn’t have the votes to pass the entire chamber, then what does it hurt to let it actually see a vote? Just because Diaz de la Portilla or Flores or whoever doesn’t like the bill, why should we be okay with the idea that one or two people can kill it?
Exactly. It’s in the Judiciary Committee, and their job is to make sure the thing is legal, not whether or not to decide if they like it or not. It’s clear abuse of the system.
But if it goes to the floor for a vote then they will have to vote for or against it…. publicly.
Exactly … those Senators do not want their position on the bill being in public record.
Politics are about doing or not doing; not about theory, objectivity, doing the right thing, or making moral declarations.
Forgetting for a moment that politicians are more tactical than strategic, let’s speculate on the strategic.
The “leadership” (that mythological monolith of mature character) perceives they cannot get the governor to sign legislation. Elections are not so far off that voters will forget. You have a “hot button” issue at hand, failure to prevail will be fed back to you over and again during the next campaigns. Do you roll out the play, and close on opening night, or do you cancel and blame biased pre-production publicity? Which will more likely get you more backers for re-opening down the road?
Or, maybe “the play is the thing”. You don’t like the production, but you don’t want to scare off future funding for the next show. Do you open and close, or send notices to your financiers that you are going to delay opening, reconfigure and produce an even better play (of a different genre’) a bit later?
Do you sacrifice one play in order to win on a broader, more far-reaching stage later? Or do you decide, “Never yield, regardless of the cost today, tomorrow, or forever.” ???
We elect representatives to represent us in ways the are most likely to reflect our consensus, and/or benefit us the most in the end. If the current representatives (notice nothing about party has been mentioned yet) are not representing, get new ones.
Monroe county is a part of the third world here in our state along with most of Dade county.
People of Cuban decent are inherently afraid of guns and what they might represent
in this country. A left over of 60 years of Castro’s influences.
This politician only cares about what she can do for herself. Look up her record what little there is of it actually.
Im suggesting this might be her last term as a representative here. We are however stuck with her till 2020.
If Open carry is dead yet again. Its only delayed yet again by another Rhino from Dade/Monroe County.
Funny… I would think that Castro would be a prime reason that Cubans would be very pro-gun. They, of all people, should know what private ownership of firearms actually means.
We need to bombard this woman’s office with email and phone calls. She needs to be reminded that we CARE… and if she can’t even allow this bill actually have a real vote on the floor, maybe she can spend her time hanging out with Diaz de le Portilla… doing whatever he is doing now while he’s not being a Senator.
Anti-gunners control the media and they clearly speak in louder voices so it seems like they have the numbers, when they really don’t. The fact is that most of the people out there don’t really have an opinion one way or another. They aren’t pro-gun people or anti-gun people. They are just non-gun people. And most of those non-gun people are either influenced by the anti-gun media or they simply don’t care.
The fact is that an open carry bill is going to have about as much affect on the daily life of the general public here in FL as it does in other states… that is to say almost none. Even when it is allowed, it’s rarely practiced. There obviously isn’t going to be a bloodbath in the streets… but I would argue that there is likely not even going to be all that many people openly carrying. It’s just the principle of the fact that government is taking the rights away from the people out of irrational fear.
“We are however stuck with her till 2020.”
Not if Senator Flores faces sanctions for opposing our natural rights and the Bill of Rights.
https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/s39
Her site just shows she has accomplished nothing for the 10 people she represents. While sticking her nose in the entire states business. Because she can.
What do you expect from a 30K a year 2 week job????
That’s the official salary Jay.
You aren’t counting the other 99% of her system-derived income.
Our last hope is the Constitutional Revision Commission. Rick Scott seems to be still taking applications for his nominations. Call his office and demand his be open carry supporters.
…and nobody here has mentioned the obligatory “At least Florida isn’t bad as Texas” pomposity.
https://www.facebook.com/Florida.Carry/posts/1291722804206600
The omnibus Courthouse Carry, Airport Carry, Open Carry, and Campus Carry Bill is being broken up in to multiple bills.
There is one, perhaps two, republican Senate Judiciary Committee members that have not yet committed to support all portions of the original bill. But the legislative session doesn’t even start until March and committee hearings on the earliest filed bills are just getting underway.
Reporting that anyone is firmly for or against a bill, based on a phone call with an aide or secretary, is irresponsible. Thinking that legislators never change their minds about how to vote on a bill as the legislative process moves forward is nothing short of idiotic. Reporting that there are four republicans on the committee that are against the bill is blatantly FALSE.
We don’t know what TTAG’s “correspondent” thinks that lobbying and gun owner political engagement are for if it’s all a foregone conclusion. But they need to get their facts straight. I attempted to contact TTAG via email yesterday but they have not responded.
Sean Caranna
Executive Director
Florida Carry, Inc.
FloridaCarry.org
Looks like FL Carry is pissed that TTAG figured it out.
You stated “There is one, perhaps two, republican Senate Judiciary Committee members that have not yet committed to support all portions of the original bill.”
This story on TTAG was about OPEN CARRY being dead.
From Sen, Steube’s own words:
______________________________________________________________
http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/24/senator-plans-break-up-major-gun-bill/97014078/
“Just from feeling the tea leaves, it’s probably better to attack it piece by piece,” Steube said after a Judiciary Committee meeting. “The House doesn’t have a bill that has all those different (parts).”
Steube said campus-carry, which he sponsored in the House, and the airport-terminal proposal would be his top priorities.
“Given what’s happened at Fort Lauderdale airport, that’s important to me,” Steube said, alluding to a recent mass shooting at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
______________________________________________________________
Says nothing about Open Carry. He says Campus Carry and Airport Carry will be his top priority.
Let’s see…. Flores is a Republican Senator. Flores’ past show she is not in favor of the 2nd Amendment.
TTAG got it right
“With this latest attack”???? Do they mean the silly fake Ft. Lauderdale staged hoax to influence SB140. The one the showed the same people in multiple scenes running from the airport and now there back. The one where there a guy running with a child on his shoulders that is clearly a dummy. The one airing on news that people are running but if you look closer it’s actually some womens athletic running team doing there daily jog in a formation on the Tarmac while the director in red jacket is just casualy walking. The one where the mainstream said he flown Air Canada but quickly changed it to Delta when Air Canda tweeted we have no record of this guy or a gun. Think what you will. These politicians and the government are lying to the people and the public. They will always run fake staged hoaxs to promote there agends. It’s working because a bigger percentage is falling for it rather than using critical thinking and researching the garbage put out by the mainstream media. As long as the masses keep falling for this you deserve to have your guns stripped from you. You deserve the military state that you will be getting in the future. WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!
“With this latest attack”???? Do they mean the silly fake Ft. Lauderdale staged hoax to influence SB140. The one the showed the same people in multiple scenes running from the airport and now they’re back. The one where there a guy running with a child on his shoulders that is clearly a dummy. The one airing on news that people are running but if you look closer it’s actually some womens athletic running team doing there daily jog in a formation on the Tarmac while the director in red jacket is just casualy walking. The one where the mainstream said he flown Air Canada but quickly changed it to Delta when Air Canda tweeted we have no record of this guy or a gun. Think what you will. These politicians and the government are lying to the people and the public. They will always run fake staged hoaxs to promote there agends. It’s working because a bigger percentage is falling for it rather than using critical thinking and researching the garbage put out by the mainstream media. As long as the masses keep falling for this you deserve to have your guns stripped from you. You deserve the military state that you will be getting in the future. WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!
I thought it would definitely pass this year,but yet we have another Portilla blocking us.we need to bombard her with letters,emails,phone calls.Florida use to be a leader of this nation,and we are down with calif,ny,ill.We are better then that we all take are 2A very serious.And I will not stop fighting,we are being “Infringed. Upon”.She works for us “We the people”
http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017/0128/BillText/__/PDF
But another light in the darkness the queen / bitch of corruptnes have voted yes for the burden of proof bill.
It’s always entertaining to hear the squeals and whines from the open carry obsessed folks. As long as the citizens of Florida are still able to own, possess, and carry firearms with few restrictions, all this bitching and moaning over the inability to openly display a handgun in public is much ado about nothing.
Even though I believe the nearly 13 month old Texas open carry law was a bone headed waste of legislative time and resources, I support and defend the Lone Star State law that now affords Texans that privilege.
What’s interesting is that in those nearly 13 months, I’ve yet to see my first open carrier anywhere despite extensive travel throughout East Texas, North Texas, South Texas, or the metro areas of Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, or Corpus Christi.
The reality that the overwhelming majority of license to carry holders in Texas have forgone their open carry privilege and continue to carry concealed just as they have since 1995 which proves most Texans have the good sense to know that there is no practical reason or advantage by attracting the attention or alerting everyone you encounter to the fact you’re armed with a handgun.
Members of the Texas Legislature have certainly taken notice that only a minuscule percentage of license to carry holders have exercised their open carry privilege which is the primary reason that the Constitutional carry legislation effort has fizzled and garnered significantly less support from members of the 85th Texas Legislature and is extremely unlikely to become State law in this session or future sessions.
Like I’ve said dozens of times before in the forum, just because open carry is legal doesn’t mean it’s smart.
Found the anti-OC bigot Fudd.
More like an anti dumb@$$ bigot.
few restrictions white the exeption of open carry ??
Places Off
–
Limits Even With a
Permit/License
790.06 (12)
License to Carry Concea
led Weapon or Firearm
Any place of nuisance as defined in s. 823.05
any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station;
any detention facility, prison, or jail;
any courthouse; any courtroom, except that nothing in this section would preclude a judge from
c
arrying a concealed weapon or determining who will carry a concealed weapon in his or her
courtroom;
any polling place;
any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special
district;
any meeting of the Legislat
ure or a committee thereof;
any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms;
Any elementary or secondary school facility or administration building;
any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for
consumption on the
premises, which portion of the establishment is primarily devoted to such purpose;
any elementary or secondary school facility;
any area vocational
–
technical center;
any college or university facility unless the licensee is a register
ed student, employee, or faculty
member of such college or university and the weapon is a stun gun or non
–
lethal electric weapon or
device designed solely for defensive purposes and the weapon does not fire a dart or projectile;
(See
Note in Parking Lot St
orage Section)
inside the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport, provided that no person shall be
prohibited from carrying any legal firearm into the terminal, which firearm is encased for shipment
for purposes of checking such firearm as bagg
age to be lawfully transported on any aircraft; or
any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law
Lib if you were under the impression that the Florida open carry legislation would remove all restrictions on where handguns can be carried I’m afraid you’re sorely mistaken. I suspect you know better which is why your response ignores the fact that had the Florida open carry effort not failed, the only restriction that would no longer be applicable is the requirement for the handgun to be concealed. When compared to the northeastern liberal anti-gun states like New York and New Jersey, Florida has relatively few restrictions on owning, possessing, or carrying a handgun. Unfortunately Florida will at some point in the future reach a tipping point when enough transplants from liberal anti-gun northeastern states become Florida residents similar to the tipping point that occurred when so many liberals fleeing California moved to Colorado and infected the Rocky Mountain State with anti-gun politics.
Why is this something politicians are in charge of???? Let the people vote on this!!!!!
Sb 140 is a different bill now stuebe broke it down to about 12 different bills . Go to
flsenate.gov on page 7.
Sb 140 was introduced to the senate on 3/7/17, please see now how our combined efforts and pressure on representatives is working! Double down now more than ever, it’s a simple email and it could be the one that solidifies their support for the 2A!