This is a dumb and dangerous bill. IANAL Warning!

SB 1718: Sale and Delivery of Firearms Sale and Delivery of Firearms; Prohibiting persons convicted of misdemeanor hate crime offenses from purchasing firearms, etc

29         4. Has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime that is
30  required to be reported as a hate crime under s. 877.19 and,
31  therefore, is prohibited from purchasing a firearm; or

I looked up s.877.19 and found the following:

877.19 Hate Crimes Reporting Act.—(1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Hate Crimes Reporting Act.”
(2) ACQUISITION AND PUBLICATION OF DATA.—The Governor, through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, shall collect and disseminate data on incidents of criminal acts that evidence prejudice based on race, religion, ethnicity, color, ancestry, sexual orientation, or national origin. All law enforcement agencies shall report monthly to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement concerning such offenses in such form and in such manner as prescribed by rules adopted by the department. Such information shall be compiled by the department and disseminated upon request to any local law enforcement agency, unit of local government, or state agency.

OK, but FGDLE does not do law, it enforces it. I searched the FDLE site for Hate Crimes and finally got somewhere.  Florida Statute: 775.085.e

775.085 Evidencing prejudice while committing offense; reclassification.—(1)(a) The penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be reclassified as provided in this subsection if the commission of such felony or misdemeanor evidences prejudice based on the race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status, or advanced age of the victim:
1. A misdemeanor of the second degree is reclassified to a misdemeanor of the first degree.
2. A misdemeanor of the first degree is reclassified to a felony of the third degree.
3. A felony of the third degree is reclassified to a felony of the second degree.
4. A felony of the second degree is reclassified to a felony of the first degree.
5. A felony of the first degree is reclassified to a life felony.

First, why the obfuscation? Why not just say crimes reclassified in 775.085 and not give people the runaround. Second, It is ludicrous that you may get charged for something as dull as Disorderly Conduct, Simple Trespass, fail to remit sale tax, you kept your woobie (not kidding :THEFT MILITARY PROP UNDER 100 DOLS) or any of the perhaps hundreds of misdemeanors of the second degree codified in Florida Law and the prosecutor finds a way to make it a hate crime (There were a group of old lesbian nuns sitting nearby), you are suddenly out of pleading a snap on the wrist, a fine and let go with your Gun Rights intact, but you have become a Florida Prohibited Person for purchase. And here is the third twist: The law says nothing about OWNING, just PURCHASING. This is the camel inserting its nose in the tent: If successful, Gun Control will demand that anybody convicted of a Second Degree Misdemeanor  with a Hate Crime increment would be a fully Prohibited Person. And then of course, other states should follow the example of Florida and not allow “Nazis and rednecks” to own guns, etc, etc, etc.

Am I paranoid? I might be, but sure there is a lot of people doing pursuit in Tallahassee.