To me, it’s a travesty. While the legislature, in the name of student safety, attacked the 2nd Amendment and thereby the rights of every American, the Constitution Revision Commission is trying to provide them constitutional cover in a proposed amendment for the ballot in November. Let’s not buy the lie!
Even if this idiotic idea would pass, it would only impact the Florida courts in their rulings. The 2nd Amendment is in the United States Constitution and the issue would, and will, be settled in the Federal Courts! So, the lie has been put to the argument that this would solidify the legislature’s bad school safety bill that restricts those 2nd amendment rights of adult Floridians. It is unnecessary and should be stopped, if not by the commission then by us at the polls in November.
That’s not the only lie in play.
Legislative apologists say this is not an infringement as handgun age restrictions have been upheld. That may be correct but it is deceptive. Rifle restrictions have not. How many kids around the country are avid hunters by the time they are 13 or 14? Now, they cannot buy a gun, but they are certainly capable of properly using one. To pretend that legal adults 18-20 are somehow incapable of safely doing so to the point that their rights as American citizens should be infringed for the safety of our schools is ridiculous. The acts of a madman of 19 are being used to take away constitutionally enumerated rights. That is simply wrong.
Then, in a letter to Brevard citizens, our own delegation showed its complicity or ignorance of the matter on which they voted by saying bump stocks make a rifle fully automatic. That is another lie or a display of ignorance of enormous proportions. The bump stock, and I have no problem with its ban, simply nudges the shooter’s finger to pull the trigger again, most likely faster than the shooter could pull the trigger again under his own power. And no, I am not pretending that the avid shooter cannot create his own device that would accomplish the same goal. But if he’s a serious shooter, he won’t like the inaccurate nature of the shot pattern the device would produce.
While the lies fly, it should remind us that we will have differences of opinion on the issues raised since Parkland. And that’s fine. What’s not is when people elected or appointed to represent us are not honest with us or informed on the issues they make decisions about that impact us all. If we can’t have honesty then, we don’t need these folks in those roles!