The St Petersburg Time/TampaBay.com “Idiotorial” of today bitterly complains that citizens from other states can obtain a Florida CCW way too easy. They go through the usual balderdash of why this is a bad idea and mentions without details two cases: One where a Philadelphia man shot an 18 year old car thief (apparently having a FL CCW is enough for the Philadelphia Enquirer and Philadelphia Cops to pass sentence without trial since they already declared the shooter a murderer. PS: The link is mine. The St. Pete Times did not dignified itself to provide more info.) and that somebody else was denied of a Pennsylvania permit because of “of his association with drug trafficking” which means you don’t need to be guilty of something, you just have to be suspected of not being  on “good character.” And I thought Jim Crow laws were dead.

But what really sent me in a fit of laughter was the parsimonious closing paragraph of the “Idotorial.”

Isn’t this the very essence of states’ rights? Each state should be free to determine and enforce for itself who should or shouldn’t be able to carry a concealed weapon — without the interference and bureaucratic indifference of another state. Concealed weapons permits should not be among Florida’s exports.

Well shit Bubba, it is not like Florida put a gun on Pennsylvania’s head and said “You accept our Weapons Licenses or we kill you!” Pennsylvania is free to deny reciprocity with Florida any time it wishes.

And I leave you with this quote:

Editor:  A person employed on a newspaper whose business it is to separate the wheat from the chaff, and to see that the chaff is printed.  ~Elbert Hubbard