Gwen Graham is a former Florida Representative and is currently a Democrat candidate for governor.
This is what she said during a debate:
“My commitment to you is action, not words. I have found a public safety statute [Graham’s staff later identified it as Florida Statute 14.022, which allows the Governor to take emergency action to quell violence] that allows the Governor, whoever she may be, to sign an executive order for public safety reasons banning the sale of military assault weapons.”
This is the text of the first part of FL 14.022. It’s too long to post here in its entirety.
14.022 Governor; emergency powers to quell violence.—
(1) The Governor of Florida is hereby authorized and empowered to take such measures and to do all and every act and thing which she or he may deem necessary in order to prevent overt threats of violence or violence, to the person or property of citizens of the state and to maintain peace, tranquillity, and good order in the state, and in any political subdivision thereof, and in any area of the state designated by the Governor.
(2) The Governor when, in her or his opinion, the facts warrant, shall, by proclamation, declare that, because of unlawful assemblage, violence, overt threats of violence, or otherwise, a danger exists to the person or property of any citizen or citizens of the state and that the peace and tranquillity of the state, or any political subdivision thereof, or any area of the state designated by the Governor, is threatened, and because thereof an emergency, with reference to said threats and danger, exists.
This provision of the law is to empower the governor to stop a riot or perhaps looting after a hurricane. It authorizes the governor to call on the militia, military (National Guard), sheriffs, highway patrol, and other state offices to quell the problem.
Graham, in the tradition of dictators everywhere, wants to use powers only available during an emergency to bypass the normal political process and impose her will, by falsely declaring an emergency.
She doesn’t want to bother with the normal law making process. There is a chance Florida wouldn’t pass and AWB. So she has a pen and a phone and is going “emergency power” an AWB into place.
She wants to get elected and pass her own Reichstag Fire Decree because of the Parkland shooting. Her message is “vote for me to put the boot on the throat of the people you don’t like.”
It’s horrifying to see a candidate openly admit that she wants to abuse her power for strictly partisan political purposes.
Gwen Graham for Totalitarian Dictator of the Democratic Peoples’s Republic of Florida.
Actually I find it refreshing as well … the cards are on the table now, at least with this one.
My great fear is that Americans are now too comfortable to care enough to think through the promises such pols make.
An enterprising reporter should ask her if, as part of this order, she’d send the National Guard into the areas with the highest rates of gun violence.
I suspect she would refuse to answer, but it would be amusing to watch the dance. Plus, refusal to do so makes the “emergency” claim an obvious lie.
“enterprising reporter”? Aren’t those things extinct? Ya know, I remember from my childhood, during the Mesozoic Era, when there were these things called “newspapers”, that appeared to strive for “objective reporting”. Yet more fossils to be dug up in centuries yet to come. ,
[…] So here I am trying to write a nice post about Gwen Graham when J. Kb. beats me to it. […]
Following in the best tradition of the NAZIs, create an emergency and then declare martial law. (see Reichstag fire)
“banning the sale of military assault weapons.” If this quote was accurate, we shouldn’t be too concerned. I don’t think there are many sales of military assault weapons going on in the civilian market.
Military assult weapon = machine gun…….lotta money, 200$ transfer,paperwork, long wait time for tax stamp…. I dont see a problem here..