The chairman of the Florida Sheriffs Association’s (FSA) legislative committee is quoted in some recent news reports with erroneous claims regarding the proposed open carry bill in Florida (SB 300) by Sen. Don Gaetz and (HB 163) by Rep. Matt Gaetz.The public deserves to know the truth. Below are some of those claims and our responses.
Source: Guest commentary: Truth about Florida’s open carry bill and states with open carry
Not only go read the piece by Marion Hammer, but keep it handy in case you happen to find some uninformed person repeating the crap flying around.
FSA: “…the state’s trespass law gives businesses the right to ask anyone openly carrying a weapon to leave their property,” but they … “will be reluctant to tell a person wearing a .45 to leave.”
That one is just flat out offensive. The implication being that an open carrier will shoot a store clerk for being told to leave his gun in his car. That, to my research, has never happened in either open carry stated or by concealed carriers where “no guns allowed” signs are posted. At the very worst, carriers just refuse to do business there. That argument is pure “people who carry guns are unhinged and will kill at the drop of a hat” BS.
The media and liberals and democrats have put this false fear of guns in peoples heads and thus lies the problem.They have a part of society associating guns with bad people whether they are criminals or law abiding citizens.I think people should be smart enough to know the difference but they don’t they choose to believe the hype.
I generally carry concealed. I have however, carried open a few times and have yet to see anyone react in any way. I also occasionally see others open carrying and the only question that comes to my mind is what they are carrying.