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Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Second Amendment groups file for summary judgment in bid to overturn Florida's open carry ban
Gun-rights groups are pursuing several strategies to win the right to openly carry firearms in Florida. (Photo by Matt Rourke/The Associated Press) A Palm Beach gun owner and two Second Amendment groups have filed a motion for summary judgement in their federal court challenge to Florida's law banning individuals from openly carrying firearms, claiming the law is unconstitutional. Gun Owners of America, the Gun Owners Foundation, and gun owner Richard Hughes originally filed their lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida last August, alleging that the law banning open carry violates the Second and Fourteenth amendments of the U.S. Constitution and places them, their members, and their supporters at risk of being arrested and prosecuted should they openly carry firearms in public. St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro is the lone defendant in the case. In their lawsuit, Hughes and the two gun rights organizations list him because the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office warned the public after the state legalized what is known as 'permitless carry' in 2023 that '[t]he law is not open carry; open carry is still illegal under most circumstances.' In 2017, the Florida Supreme Court upheld state restrictions on openly carrying a firearm, ruling in Norman v. State that the law did not violate citizens' Second Amendment rights in a case brought by Dale Lee Norman, a St. Lucie County resident who faced a second-degree misdemeanor charge after he walked down a road with handgun holstered to his hip, according to the Courthouse News Service. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The federal lawsuit says that state Supreme Court ruling failed on a couple of fronts: for 'not once consulting contemporaneous authorities to discern the meaning of the Second Amendment's text' and for failure to conduct an historical analysis of the 'nation's early tradition as to open carry — or any tradition, for that matter.' 'This case is personal for me and millions of gun owners across the state,' said Luis Valdes, Florida state director for Gun Owners of America. 'Florida likes to brand itself as pro-Second Amendment, but this ban proves otherwise. We are fighting to restore a right that never should've been taken away — and we won't stop until every Floridian can carry openly, freely, and constitutionally.' 'Florida's open carry ban is an outdated and unconstitutional relic,' Sam Parades said in a statement on behalf of the board of directors for Gun Owners Foundation. 'The right to bear arms means exactly that — to carry arms, not just to keep them locked away.' Florida remains one of only five states in the nation that bans the open carrying of a firearm, the others being Illinois, Connecticut, New York, and California — a list of blue states that Florida does not usually share an alliance with. Gov. Ron DeSantis has said on several occasions that he supports open carry, and First Lady Casey DeSantis weighed in as well earlier this year, writing on X that, 'It's time for the Free State of Florida to join other states in enacting open carry! Sounds like a great priority for our GOP supermajority. This is the year.' But it wasn't the year for open carry in Florida's GOP-dominated state Legislature. Senate President Ben Albritton stated his opposition to overturning the ban in his first day as leader while meeting with reporters last November. A trial date has been set for November 3, 2025. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Weighing run for governor, David Jolly proposes gun liability insurance to reduce violence
When it comes to guns, doing nothing can be an accomplishment for the Florida Legislature. Now, David Jolly is asking voters if they are OK with that. Jolly is a former Republican congressman from St. Petersburg introducing himself to voters elsewhere as a potential Democratic candidate for governor. He's holding a series of town halls; among the things he's talking about is gun violence. At an April 30 town hall in Broward County, he said lawmakers should look into requiring liability insurance for firearms as a way to reduce gun violence. The idea is to leverage the profit motives of insurance companies as part of a responsible gun ownership framework. One catch: The idea is under challenge in the courts. Nonetheless, a change in approach is needed, according to Jolly: Florida witnessed six mass shootings – defined as an incident involving four people injured or killed, not including the shooter – in the first four months of 2025. The shootings claimed 10 lives and injured 20. There have been 19 mass shootings in the state since 1987, when lawmakers began a spree of repealing gun control measures to make firearms more easily accessible. According to information from the Statista data company, combined with the Gun Violence Archive daily totals, Florida is third in the number of mass shootings since 1982, behind California with 35 and Texas with 29. In a follow-up conversation with the Democrat, Jolly said a major obstacle to reducing gun violence is that the 'Republican majority in Tallahassee won't even consider talking about gun safety measures.' While Luis Valdes of Gun Owners of America calls liability insurance for firearms a violation of civil liberties – 'We don't force insurance on free speech. Why guns?' Valdes said – he probably doesn't need to worry about the conversation Jolly wants to have. The GOP supermajority at the Capitol, backed by a base of Second Amendment absolutists, rarely allow such a proposal or any gun safety measure to see the light of a committee hearing. For seven years straight, Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, has filed bills to strengthen background checks for firearms purchases and require safe storage requirements to no avail. None of her bills have ever been scheduled for a hearing. Polsky said legislative leaders do not want to expose their members in a discussion or recorded vote about public safety and the Second Amendment. 'If they vote for gun safety, then the people on the right go nuts. If they vote against gun safety, then people in the middle and on the left go nuts. So, they kind of feel like there's no winning, and we do nothing,' Polsky said. This year, when a proposal to lower the minimum age to purchase a rifle was defeated, advocates for gun safety, Democrats and Republicans all declared victory – albeit behind closed doors. Nothing was done to make the state's gun laws worse, Polsky said, but lawmakers 'certainly are not making them any better.' Jolly says he does not know if leveraging insurance companies' profit motives to vet potential gun owners as responsible adults would be any more effective than relying on the political motivations of elected officials to do it. Jolly responded to two Florida mass shootings as a member of Congress, explaining Florida's gun culture and laws to reporters, including after the Pulse nightclub killings in Orlando, the second worst mass shooting in U.S. history. And he served as an MSNBC commentator during coverage of eight more Florida shootings after he left Congress in 2017. The idea of liability insurance for firearms dates to the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children and six staff members died. In 2022, the San Jose City Commission approved a Gun Harm Reduction Ordinance that requires gun owners to obtain an insurance policy to cover any damages created by a shooting. New Jersey requires a $300,000 liability policy to carry a handgun in public. Both laws are currently tied up in lawsuits. It's a conversation Jolly wonders whether Floridians are interested in having as he weighs a decision to enter the 2026 gubernatorial contest. 'I do know we're not doing enough, and everything should be on the table,' Jolly said about gun safety. If the goal, as Jolly says, its to construct "an architecture around gun ownership that increases the level of responsibility," then Valdes has an idea for the table to discuss. "Let's make the (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's) hunter safety course part of the high school curriculum so that every student learns responsible firearm use and graduates smarter – and safer," Valdes said. James Call can be reached at jcall@ and is on X as @CallTallahassee. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Liability insurance for guns? David Jolly's plan to curb violence
Axios
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Concealed carry permits spike in Denver as new rules loom
Obtaining a concealed carry permit in Denver, already home to some of the state's strictest gun laws, will soon require additional steps. The big picture: A state law taking effect July 1 will add new requirements for obtaining concealed carry licenses, including mandating eight hours of in-person instruction and passing a live-fire test, where a person must shoot a minimum of 50 rounds. Why it matters: The new law will add barriers for responsible gun owners, including costlier training for a permit type that's grown in popularity over the past five years, as Colorado's gun laws grow increasingly restrictive. Yes, but: The city's chief compliance officer, Mary Dulacki, tells us she doesn't presume the new requirements will affect the number of applicants. Firearms training could be more expensive for applicants, she adds. By the numbers: Denver issued 2,768 concealed carry permits last year, a 31% jump from 2018, the last year DPD had available due to its retention policy. Those figures include new and renewed permits, which last five years, Denver police spokesperson Jay Casillas tells us. The intrigue: It's unclear why more Denverites are choosing to conceal carry. The figures from Denver police show a post-pandemic spike closely mirroring a rise in violent crime rates, which have since fallen in Denver. What they're saying: Chris Stone, state and local affairs director for the lobbying firm Gun Owners of America, tells us "normal gun owners" are realizing that "you are your own first line of self-defense," which could be driving an uptick in concealed carry's popularity. Women, people of color and LGBTQ people are among the fast-growing demographics for new gun owners, Stone says. Zoom in: Most concealed permit applications are approved in Denver, with about 46 applications rejected annually, based on DPD's data from 2018 to 2024. Last year, 2,768 applications were approved and 51 were rejected, per DPD data. Between the lines: State law effectively says most people are entitled to a permit if they seek one, Dulacki tells us. Rejected applicants are often people with protective orders, past felony convictions or frequent police contact, Dulacki adds. Meanwhile, people getting these licenses run the gamut. Zoom out: Permits can be revoked, but that's rare, with only about 14 licenses pulled every year on average since 2018.
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A look at some bills that are struggling in the Florida Legislature as Sine Die approaches
Legislation cracking down on distracted driving appears to be stalling in the Florida House during the 2025 session. (Stock photo by Getty Images) Shortly after the Senate passed her bill (SB 1318) to ban individuals from hands-on cellphone use while driving, Vero Beach Republican Erin Grall acknowledged that the measure's future was uncertain. Its House companion had yet to receive a single hearing in the lower chamber of the Legislature. 'If there is the will, there's always a way' Grall told the Phoenix after the measure passed the Senate 29-7 on Wednesday. 'At least it's going to be with [the House] now, and we'll see if any other solutions are proposed.' Grall's is one of several high-profile proposals in limbo at this point in the 2025 Florida legislative session, having passed through one chamber going nowhere in the other. And with two-thirds of the regular legislative session now in the books, the outcome of some for these bills look cloudy at best. Yet those involved in the legislative process don't dare say they are dead just yet. 'I would say there's a lot of time left in the session,' Senate President Ben Albritton said this week when asked about the timeline for such bills and whether he might jumpstart their passage through the Senate. 'You're asking me if I'm specifically open to the idea of referring a House bill that we receive it to say, Rules or Appropriations to have that bill heard and potentially move?' he said in repeating an inquiry with reporters on Wednesday. 'The answer is yes.' Among bills that the Senate President himself has been asked about on an almost weekly basis is HB 759, which would would lower the age for individuals in Florida to purchase shotguns and rifles from 21 to 18. Three measures in the Senate include that provision, but none of them have had a committee hearing. Albritton has refused to commit to whether he might consider it — unlike his predecessor, Kathleen Passidomo, who was explicit in rejecting that idea during the past two sessions, when she was presiding officer. 'We've heard through back channels that there might be a bill to use as a bargaining chip with the House. Possibly for the budget or something else,' said Luis Valdes, Florida state director of Gun Owners of America. 'If that's the case, Gun Owners of America aren't actually fond of that, because using Second Amendment rights as a bargaining chip for something else is wrong, especially when hundreds of thousands of Floridians have had their rights violated by this law.' Second Amendment enthusiasts were hyped before the session that their long-awaited hope that Florida would join the overwhelming number of states that allow for open carry would finally be realized, but Albritton shut down that thought in November. Then there's SB 166, the public school 'deregulation' bill sponsored in the Senate by North Florida Republican Corey Simon. Under this legislation, Florida high schoolers would not need to pass algebra or English final exams to graduate. The bill looks to 'level the playing field amid other school-choice options,' Albritton said in a news release. There is no House companion for the proposal. A year ago, Tallahassee Democratic Rep. Allison Tant's distracted-driving bill cleared all three of its committees before dying on the House floor. Its Senate companion, however, was blocked in committees and never received a hearing. Flash forward to 2025 and the exact opposite is happening: Sen. Grall's bill cleared all of its three committee assignments before passing in the Senate by a two-thirds majority this week, while its House equivalent has yet to be heard in either of its two assigned committees. Yet advocates aren't ready to throw in the towel just yet, noting that the bill has been sent to the House in messages, making it available for action there. 'We are extremely hopeful that Rep. Perez will bring this forth, since he represents Miami-Dade, one of 11 counties that have passed a hands-free resolution asking lawmakers to act,' said a spokesperson for the Anthony Phoenix Branca Foundation, a group led by Demetrius Branca, who visited lawmakers around the state earlier this year in hopes of getting them to pass the bill this year. A distracted driver killed Branca's son in 2014. The House has championed a number of scope-of-practice expansions this session but the Senate does not seem interested in doing the same. For instance, the House passed legislation allowing certified registered nurse anesthetists to work without having a written supervisory protocol with a physician. The bill (HB 649) passed the House on April 3 on a 77-30 vote. Conversely, the Senate companion (SB 718) has been referred to three committees but has been heard by none. Other bills that have soared through one chamber but are gaining no traction in the other, such as the 'right to repair' legislation sponsored by Central Florida Republican Keith Truenow in the Senate (SB 1132). The measure would require manufacturers to more freely provide access to tools, manuals, and parts needed to repair certain agriculture and portable wireless equipment. It's House companion, sponsored by Tampa Bay Democratic Rep. Michele Rayner (HB 235), hasn't received a single hearing in any of the committees it was assigned to. There's the E-Verify measure (HB 955), which would require all Florida businesses to use the system to check the legal status of employees, which has cleared both of the committees that it was assigned to in the House. If approved, it would change existing law, which requires only businesses with 25 employees or more to employ the program. However, E-Verify hasn't moved at all in the Senate. Sarasota County Republican Sen. Joe Gruters told the Phoenix late Friday that the proposal is still viable in that chamber. With additional reporting from Christine Sexton and Jay Waagmeester. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US Justice Department repeals Biden-era 'zero tolerance' policy for gun dealers
By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department on Monday repealed a Biden-era "zero tolerance" policy which called for revoking the licenses of gun dealers who willfully committed serious violations such as failing to conduct background checks, an FBI spokesperson said. The reversal of the policy, which was touted by the conservative Gun Owners of America group before any official government announcement was made, follows President Donald Trump ordering the department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to conduct a wholesale review of all of the gun regulations implemented under his Democratic predecessor President Joe Biden. Kash Patel, who is currently serving as both the FBI director and the acting ATF director, spoke to the members of the Gun Owners of America during their August meeting. He claimed falsely that the former head of the ATF during Biden's presidency wanted to take away people's Second Amendment right to bear arms. The Gun Owners of America is one of the nation's most far-right gun-rights advocacy groups and has called for abolishing the ATF and purging gun sales records that law enforcement agents use to help solve crimes. The zero-tolerance policy repealed on Monday called for the ATF, which regulates the firearms industry, to revoke the licenses of gun dealers if they willfully sold firearms to prohibited people such as convicted felons, failed to conduct background checks, falsified records or failed to respond to law enforcement requests to help trace firearms used to commit crimes. Gun-control groups had supported the Biden-era policy, saying it served as an important tool toward cracking down on illegal straw purchasing and gun trafficking. The firearms industry was largely critical of it, saying it was leading the government to shut down gun shops over minor infractions uncovered during inspections. Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president of the NSSF, the Firearm Industry Trade Association, praised the decision to repeal the policy. "This reckless policy throttled small businesses and drove many to shut down by threatening crippling administrative costs to fight against penalties for minor errors and infractions that were previously reconciled in good faith between ATF officials and law-abiding firearm retailers," Keane said in a statement. Emma Brown, executive director for the gun-control advocacy group Giffords, said the repeal could lead to spikes in crime. "Putting gun dealers who break the law back in business will increase crime," she said.
