“It’s not looking really good for open carry unless some agreement surfaces that provides for some safeguards that you don’t have a Wild Wild West situation with people walking down the streets of, say Miracle Mile or International Di[r]ve or Brickell, like they are walking to the O.K. Corral,” Diaz de la Portilla said.

Source: Florida open-carry bill hanging by a thread | Gainesville.com

This quote from De La Portilla rang my bell hard. Maybe this is where the pressure is coming after all. Allow me to explain.

Let’s begin with International Drive. That is in Orlando and according to Wikipedia:

“The International Drive area is home to the Orange County Convention Center complex, the Pointe Orlando entertainment complex, major hotels, SeaWorld Orlando, the Wet ‘n Wild Orlando water park, the Orlando Eye Ferris wheel, the I-Drive 360 entertainment complex, museums, themed restaurants, bars, outlet malls, and other tourism-related commercial properties and tourist attractions. The major theme park Universal Orlando is also located in the area.”

Not only major hotels but very expensive  major hotels. But also is important for another reason according to McThag:

it does fuck all to alleviate the situation when nothing pro-gun will happen in the state senate because the senate president and the chairman of the judicial committee both have decided that no liberty will be expanded on their watch.

Andy Gardiner is from Orlando and as Senate President he could bring the bill the House passed to a vote, bypassing the judicial committee.  Orlando… Orlando…  Oh yeah, THE FUCKING MOUSE HOUSE.  The anti-gun theme parks own a senator.

But Orlando’s theme parks and Mickey Mouse Mafia was a known quantity, what did not make sense is why should a Senator from Miami concede to Orlando which is a direct competitor for tourism money? Maybe it is just a passing mention to disguise the other two locations mentioned in the article: Miracle Mile and Brickell. Why?

There is a shitload of money associated with those places. Serious money.

Miracle Mile is located in Coral Gables. This is Old Money dating back to the 1920s. The city’s architecture is almost entirely Mediterranean Revival style and among its many residents you will find consulates, diplomatic missions, International banks, big corporations both national and international. We are talking both Nations and private ventures moving billions of dollars.

And then we have Brickell, not too far from Coral Gables and with some of the most expensive real state in South Florida, Can you say High-Rise Condos? And how expensive? According to the Miami Herald:

Let me give you a comparison: A house in my zip code (Middle class, very little crime, good schools, close to highways) goes for an average of under $150 per square foot. We are talking paying four times that for a piece of air inside a building, because that is what condos are, you don’t even own the walls or the floor. And have you wondered where is all that money to build high-priced condos come from in the middle of a deep depression? Just look South and take a guess. Some countries down there are bankrupt and nobody knows where the money went. And there is always the talcum powder…

One last thing about Brickell and Coral Gables: They are not known as ultimate tourist destinations for South Florida. And I do believe Coral Gable residents would call the cops if they smell a tourist in their area. De La Portilla’s excuse about scaring tourists falls quite short of reality.

But I think at the end of the day, it may be simply that he does not want the less-than-posh regular citizens of Miami Dade to pollute the highfalutin look of the Upper Crust Neighborhoods by having guns visible. It embarrasses him. And yes, there is plenty of class warfare even among minorities, but it tends to be a well-kept secret or they don’t get to use the Race Card.