Earlier today we ran a post from a reader regarding the legislative bottleneck holding up Florida Senate Bill 140 which would legalize open carry in the Sunshine state. That reader has since gotten some more details on the situation, none of it good:
Sen. Greg Steube’s office has told me that the good Senator is still on board with open carry, but the problem he is now facing is the other committee members. There are nine total (counting Sen. Steube) and of the eight other members, four are Republican. And we know that the three Democrat members won’t vote in favor of the open carry bill.
Chair: Senator Greg Steube (R)
Vice Chair: Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto (R)
Senator Anitere Flores (R)
Senator Rene Garcia (R)
Senator Debbie Mayfield (R)
Senator Bobby Powell (D)
Senator Perry E. Thurston, Jr. (D)
Senator Audrey Gibson (D)
Senator Randolph Bracy (D)
That’s a 5/4 split in favor of open carry. Theoretically. This should be a cake walk. Five Republicans members means the Democrats aren’t even an issue. But here we have four Republicans that aren’t currently in favor of strengthening and further securing the 2nd Amendment in Florida.
Here is the contact information for the four Republicans who are selling our constitutional rights down river:
Vice Chair of the Florida Senate Judiciary Committee: Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto (R)
https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S27
District Office
2310 First Street Unit 305
Fort Myers, FL 33901
(239) 338-2570Tallahassee Office
400 Senate Office Building 404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
(850) 487-5027
Senator Anitere Flores (R)
https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S39
District Office
10691 North Kendall Dr. Suite 309
Miami, FL 33176
(305) 270-6550Tallahassee Office
404 Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
(850) 487-5039
Senator Rene Garcia (R)
District Office
1490 West 68th Street Suite 201
Hialeah, FL 33014
(305) 364-3100
FAX (305) 364-3110.Tallahassee Office
310 Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
(850) 487-5036
Senator Debbie Mayfield (R)
https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S17
District Office
900 E. Strawbridge Avenue
Melbourne, FL 32901
(321) 409-2025Satellite Office
1801 27th Street
Vero Beach, FL 32960
(772) 226-1970Tallahassee Office
324 Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
(850) 487-5017
So in plain English, we have four Republican State Senators and Senator Steube (author of the open carry bill) who are standing between 1.69 million citizens and the restoration of their rights. Politically speaking this is a win for the anti-2nd Amendment forces without having to fire a shot. If the Republicans won’t touch back it, SB-140 will be stuck in committee and effectively dead.