Yoda
Member
Here's a DRAFT letter I' m writing to our representatives in Tallahassee. Your comments and suggestions will be appreciated. I'd also appreciate your help in trying to get some movement on this idea.
Here's the DRAFT:
Gentlemen - - -
I am writing to all three of you, as I spend most of my time working in ___'s district, and am registered to vote there; my wife spends most of her time taking care of her father in ___'s district, and is registered to vote there; and we own a home in ___'s district, and hope to return there again soon.
I request that you jointly sponsor and support legislation to repeal Section 790.28 ("Purchase of rifles and shotguns in contiguous states") in its entirely. This section consists of a single sentence: "A resident of this state may purchase a rifle or shotgun in any state contiguous to this state if he or she conforms to applicable laws and regulations of the United States, of the state where the purchase is made, and of this state."
My rationale for repealing this section follows:
Section 790.28 is more restrictive than Federal law, which allows the purchase of a rifle or shotgun ("long guns") in any state, contiguous or not, provided the purchaser conforms to all other laws and is able to pass a National Instant Check System ("NICS") check.
Few states (six?) have similar "contiguous state" limitations. Most only require that residents conform to the laws of the state in which they are buying the long gun and comply with Federal law, which allows purchase of long guns (but not hand guns) in any state, after passing a NICS check.
Section 790.28 serves no law-enforcement purpose while imposing an unnecessary burden on legal gun purchasers. Should a Florida resident want to buy a long gun in a non-contiguous state, the seller need only send the gun to a Federal Firearms License (FFL) holder in Florida, who will then run the NICS check and then convey the gun to the buyer. Since this is the same NICS check that could have been conducted in the state where the gun was bought, the only real impact of Section 790.28 is to impose additional cost, delay, and nuisance on legal gun purchasers.
Section 790.28 imposes no burdens at all on those persons who are prohibited by state or Federal law from buying guns, since they do not buy their guns through legal channels. Law-breakeres ignore Section 790.28 as freely as they ignore all other laws. Section 790.28 is no more effective in limiting their purchases of long guns than all other Federal, state, and local laws are in stopping them from illegally buying hand guns in other states.
Section 790.28 is also an improper aberration in Florida law. Rather than prohibit illegal or immoral acts, it "allows" residents to perform certain specific acts. Theories of governance aside, if our laws tried to specify all the acts that our residents were permitted to engage in, we would have a very cumbersome legal code indeed.
Section 790.28 also assumes extra-territorial jurisdiction over Florida residents. Once a resident crosses into the jurisdiction of another state, he is only bound by that state's laws and by Federal law. For example, Florida might prescribe a minimum age for marriage, but would that law would have any effect on a Florida resident getting married in another state?
This this law also specifies no penalty for violations. If, hypothetically, I bought rifles while traveling through other states, and those purchases conformed to the laws of those states and to Federal law, then what would the State of Florida do to me when I got home? Provided the FFLs in the other states performed NICS checks for each purchase, then what actual harm was done? On the other hand, there are some states (South Carolina) with laws that prohibit sales to the residents of the few states that have provisions similar to 790.28. In these cases, legitimate FFLs merely send the guns to Florida FFLs to complete the transactions. So, what does Section 790.28 really accomplish?
In summary, Section 790.28 imposes unnecessary burdens on legal gun purchasers but constitutes no hurdle at all for felons and illegal gun-traffickers. It is an odd legal quirk that attempts to prescribe what residents "may" do rather than define what they "should not" do. It attempts to limit the actions of Floridians in other states, yet it prescribes no penalty for violations.
This law serves no useful purpose, and it's an unnecessary hassle for legitimate gun owners. Please repeal it.
- - - Yoda (no, I won't sign the final version as 'Yoda")
Here's the DRAFT:
Gentlemen - - -
I am writing to all three of you, as I spend most of my time working in ___'s district, and am registered to vote there; my wife spends most of her time taking care of her father in ___'s district, and is registered to vote there; and we own a home in ___'s district, and hope to return there again soon.
I request that you jointly sponsor and support legislation to repeal Section 790.28 ("Purchase of rifles and shotguns in contiguous states") in its entirely. This section consists of a single sentence: "A resident of this state may purchase a rifle or shotgun in any state contiguous to this state if he or she conforms to applicable laws and regulations of the United States, of the state where the purchase is made, and of this state."
My rationale for repealing this section follows:
Section 790.28 is more restrictive than Federal law, which allows the purchase of a rifle or shotgun ("long guns") in any state, contiguous or not, provided the purchaser conforms to all other laws and is able to pass a National Instant Check System ("NICS") check.
Few states (six?) have similar "contiguous state" limitations. Most only require that residents conform to the laws of the state in which they are buying the long gun and comply with Federal law, which allows purchase of long guns (but not hand guns) in any state, after passing a NICS check.
Section 790.28 serves no law-enforcement purpose while imposing an unnecessary burden on legal gun purchasers. Should a Florida resident want to buy a long gun in a non-contiguous state, the seller need only send the gun to a Federal Firearms License (FFL) holder in Florida, who will then run the NICS check and then convey the gun to the buyer. Since this is the same NICS check that could have been conducted in the state where the gun was bought, the only real impact of Section 790.28 is to impose additional cost, delay, and nuisance on legal gun purchasers.
Section 790.28 imposes no burdens at all on those persons who are prohibited by state or Federal law from buying guns, since they do not buy their guns through legal channels. Law-breakeres ignore Section 790.28 as freely as they ignore all other laws. Section 790.28 is no more effective in limiting their purchases of long guns than all other Federal, state, and local laws are in stopping them from illegally buying hand guns in other states.
Section 790.28 is also an improper aberration in Florida law. Rather than prohibit illegal or immoral acts, it "allows" residents to perform certain specific acts. Theories of governance aside, if our laws tried to specify all the acts that our residents were permitted to engage in, we would have a very cumbersome legal code indeed.
Section 790.28 also assumes extra-territorial jurisdiction over Florida residents. Once a resident crosses into the jurisdiction of another state, he is only bound by that state's laws and by Federal law. For example, Florida might prescribe a minimum age for marriage, but would that law would have any effect on a Florida resident getting married in another state?
This this law also specifies no penalty for violations. If, hypothetically, I bought rifles while traveling through other states, and those purchases conformed to the laws of those states and to Federal law, then what would the State of Florida do to me when I got home? Provided the FFLs in the other states performed NICS checks for each purchase, then what actual harm was done? On the other hand, there are some states (South Carolina) with laws that prohibit sales to the residents of the few states that have provisions similar to 790.28. In these cases, legitimate FFLs merely send the guns to Florida FFLs to complete the transactions. So, what does Section 790.28 really accomplish?
In summary, Section 790.28 imposes unnecessary burdens on legal gun purchasers but constitutes no hurdle at all for felons and illegal gun-traffickers. It is an odd legal quirk that attempts to prescribe what residents "may" do rather than define what they "should not" do. It attempts to limit the actions of Floridians in other states, yet it prescribes no penalty for violations.
This law serves no useful purpose, and it's an unnecessary hassle for legitimate gun owners. Please repeal it.
- - - Yoda (no, I won't sign the final version as 'Yoda")
