Florida cities, counties must take local gun laws off books
New state law bans local gun regulations
By Martin E. Comas, ORLANDO SENTINEL8:02 PM EDT, August 13, 2011
Orange County employees have started removing "no firearms" signs at county parks, and soon they'll probably black out the same words on brochures. In Groveland, leaders recently erased from the books an ordinance that banned firing a gun into the air.
Across Florida, similar scenes are being played out as cities and counties scour their ordinances to get rid of gun regulations by Oct. 1. That's when a tough new state law, backed by the National Rifle Association, will forbid city and county governments from enacting or enforcing local gun-control regulations.
Local officials face individual $5,000 fines and even removal from office by the governor if they try to adopt or enforce local gun laws.
"The sanctions are rather draconian," said Robert Guthrie, Orange's senior assistant county attorney. "We're doing a complete inventory of which rules and regulations we need to repeal."
Since 1987, Florida has had a law giving the state the exclusive right to regulate firearms. But there were no penalties for local governments that took regulation a step further. The newly amended law adds "teeth," said Rebecca O'Hara, legislative director for the Florida League of Cities.
Supporters of the law, signed in June by Gov. Rick Scott, contend that it was needed to have consistent firearm regulations across Florida. By doing away with local restrictions, it allows people with state-issued concealed-weapons permits to carry firearms in places where they should have been allowed all along, according to the NRA. That includes, for example, Orange County parks, which have had a no-guns policy.
"The Constitution protects the right to keep and bear arms," said Marion Hammer, lobbyist for the NRA. "Local governments are not allowed to regulate the Bill of Rights."
But Dennis Henigan, interim president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a gun-control advocacy group in Washington, lambasted the law, calling it "shameful."
"The gun lobby is determined to force guns into every corner of our society," Henigan said. "That does not make us safer."
Nevertheless, local governments from Miami to Pensacola are purging their ordinances of "gun" references.
In Boca Raton, the "no guns allowed" sign has come down at City Hall.
In Lake County, commissioners recently deleted a provision in an ordinance that would have banned firearms on public lands, including its parks.
In Orange, Matt Suedmeyer, the county's parks-and-recreation manager, said he has had several meetings with county attorneys to discuss the new law, and "it does appear that we have to remove" any signs referring to guns. To save money, county employees probably will use markers to block out wording about guns in brochures.
"There is a little concern" about public safety, Suedmeyer said. "The bad guys that carry guns would bring them into the parks regardless."
State law already makes it illegal to fire into buildings, cars, across streets and in public places, except for self-defense. Though concealed-weapons-permit holders will be allowed to bring guns into most government buildings, state law doesn't allow firearms in meetings of elected officials.
But a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work for gun regulations, Palm Beach County Commissioner Shelley Vana said.
Urban communities with more people living closer together should be able to have stricter gun rules than rural communities with more wide-open spaces, Vana said.
"It's a shame that there are people in Florida who love their guns more than children," Vana said. "Special interests have won out."
But Hammer, of the NRA, said local "gun haters" flouting the 1987 law for years prompted the addition of personal penalties for public officials who try to impose local rules.
Differing gun regulations across the state "made criminals out of law-abiding people who had no way of knowing what these local regulations were," she said.
Staff writer Andy Reid contributed to this report. mcomas@tribune.com or 352-742-5927.
Copyright © 2011, Orlando Sentinel
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