June 25, 2008
Judge to rule on 'guns at work' in mid-July
BY BILL COTTERELL
FLORIDA TODAY
TALLAHASSEE -- A skeptical federal judge took shots Wednesday at both sides of a new Florida law permitting gun owners to keep weapons locked in their cars while at work, ruefully warning that it may misfire in some "stupid" ways.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle said it will be mid-July before he rules on a request by business organizations for a preliminary injunction against the law, which takes effect Tuesday. Hinkle listened to two hours and 20 minutes of arguments on the statute -- a major legislative trophy of the National Rifle Association in the 2008 session -- and peppered attorneys with questions and hypothetical situations.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce and Florida Retail Federation seek to block the law, saying it infringes on the private property rights of employers. Attorney Barry Richard also said it violates federal job-safety laws which require companies to maintain safe workplaces.
Jon Glogau, a special counsel for Attorney General Bill McCollum, and Chris Kise, representing the National Rifle Association, argued that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms does not evaporate when gun owners go to work. Glogau conceded that the statute is "not a model of clarity," but urged Hinkle to read it as the Legislature intended rather than "stretching" for possible results that aren't likely to occur.
The judge said, for instance, that the law defines an "employee" as a person holding a concealed weapon permit and asked Glogau to consider two restaurants, side by side, each with 15 workers and a public parking lot. If one employee at one restaurant has a concealed-weapon permit but none at the other restaurant has one, Hinkle said, all employees of the first place would be allowed to keep guns in their cars but none at the second place would.
"What rational reason is there to treat those businesses differently?" he said. "Stupid, isn't it?"
Hinkle addressed Richard, too, saying employees with legal guns in their cars might retrieve them in time to stop a crime or to use them for self-defense.
"You're saying it's dangerous to employees, but the others say, 'No, it's safe because somebody could run out to the car and get a gun and shoot the bad guy,'" Hinkle said.
"There is no constitutional right, either in the federal or state Constitution, that guarantees the right to carry firearms on someone else's property," Richard said.
Kise said the Constitution favors individual rights.
"The Constitution does apply in all contexts," said Kise. "We have a Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. The Constitution says 'We the People,' not 'We the Corporations.'"