A Leon County circuit judge late Friday struck down a state law that threatened tough penalties if city and county officials approve gun regulations.
Florida since 1987 has barred cities and counties from passing regulations that are stricter than state firearms laws. But in 2011, lawmakers went further by approving a series of penalties that local governments and officials could face if they violated the prohibition.
Local governments challenged the 2011 law after last year’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson, in a 15-page ruling Friday, found the law unconstitutional on a series of grounds.
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But the ruling affects the 2011 changes that created a variety of penalties for violating the preemption law. For example, under the 2011 law, local officials could face fines up to $5,000 and potential removal from office. Also, members of the public and organizations could receive damages up to $100,000 and attorney fees if they successfully sued local governments for violations.
This is not good. One of the things that kept CWL in some sort of sanity was the idea that no local pols can suddenly come up with a county regulation that forbady you to carry in otherwise legal areas according to the State. like (IIRC,) Miami Beach had a code who forbade CWL from beach areas.
I haven’t found the ruling posted online yet, too early and not enough coffee. If I find it, I will share so we can figure out where is this coming from. If you already know where to get it, let us know in the comments.
I figure this decision will be challenged. Leon County contains the cesspool of Tallahassee and judges have been known to side with the Democrats way too much, with an special affinity to bend over backwards for former Mayor and losing Gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum.
Although I love the idea of people being fined and having to pay out of their pockets, I am willing to compromise to a simple mandatory misdemeanor of the first degree and its obligatory fine. They cannot argue it is unconstitutional since it is applied to everybody else in the State, right?
Hat Tip Roger G.