Via No Lawyers, Only Guns and Money, we find out that Lonnie Phillips who sued Lucky Gunner and Cheaper than Dirt for selling ammunition and other stuff to the Aurora Killer, lost and is now forced to pay for the defendant’s costs,has been on the books, working for the Brady Campaign since January 2013 according to his Linkedin profile.
But something else called my attention:
For those with bad eyesight:
So what the hell is the Brady Campaign doing keeping a database of firearm owners? Are they planning on doing some massive lawsuit against us? Are they keeping an enemy’s list?
And the other question it needs to be answered: Are they keeping a database of Florida Gun Owners? Because if they happen to be doing so, I have news for them:
Florida Statutes 790.335
PROHIBITIONS.—No state governmental agency or local government, special district, or other political subdivision or official, agent, or employee of such state or other governmental entity or any other person, public or private, shall knowingly and willfully keep or cause to be kept any list, record, or registry of privately owned firearms or any list, record, or registry of the owners of those firearms…..
…..Any person who, or entity that, violates a provision of this section commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
If names of Florida Gun Owners are being kept in that database, The Brady Campaign and Mr. Phillips by his own admission are risking 5 years in prison and $5,000 in fines.
And again, they must answer the obvious question: Why are they keeping a database of Gun Owners?
IANAL, nor do I play one on TV. Heck, I didn’t even spend last night in a Holiday Inn Express….
That being said, I would think that, unless Mr. Phillips maintained (or helped to maintain) a database that linked specific Florida residents to specific firearms, he might be able to find some wiggle room in the wording of that statute (“registry of the owners of those firearms“). A sympathetic judge could easily conclude that the statute in question (or, at least, that part you quoted) only applies to databases that link specific Florida gun owners to specific firearms.
Any of your readers with Florida-specific legal training are free to correct me.
It’s a lovely thought, though….
I think that the chances are pretty good that they kept both. Remember that Joe Doe with a hunting shotgun is not attractive, but Joe Doe with an evil black rifle is quite the selling point for them.
I’m sure that they would love to have a private database that linked specific Florida gun owners to specific firearms. I’m just not sure how they would obtain the data about the firearms.
The linkedin page you posted has his email button: Have you asked him? Wouldn’t a lawsuit against the Brady bunch in general and this Adam Henry specifically be lovely? Turnabout is fair play.
I should check with the guys of Florida Carry. If there is a possible lawsuit, they are the ones.
[…] Is the Brady Campaign maintaining a gun owner database? If so, they may be breaking the law. […]
[…] keeping a gun owner database? Why? Of course, it could be an epic troll, in which case well-played. Miguel noticed too, and thinks it might be a violation of Florida law if true. Probably other states […]
The Florida law would seem to make it a felony to keep a list of one’s own firearms, say for insurance purposes. Please tell me I’m wrong, and why.
Agency. You have agency over your property, and likewise can extend that to others whom you select to help order and secure your personal affairs. This includes your insurance carrier, and even voluntary orgs like the NRA (not that they keep a firearms log – they will never keep such a log for fear it would be seized).
The operative words there are “privately owned”. That separates you from “THEM”.
To that end, if you explicitly permitted Brady to keep track of your firearms, it would not be a violation on their part when they did. It’s that lack of permission that causes the problem, though.
IANAL.YMMV. WTF. TLA. NSA. CIA. NBC. NWO. (and finally) LOL.
This is why I insist that people find the law and read it on their own.
Florida Statutes 790.335 (3) Exceptions.
(k) Personal records of firearms maintained by the owner of such firearms.
Which is why insurance carriers and such are not violating the law. They are maintaining your records.
Now, if the insurer sold that list to someone, or shared it outside your control…