Contact Governor DeSantis & House Speaker Renner for HB 1619, Open Carry!

[Miami_JBT]

I need you to take action and fight to make sure these bills pass the Florida House!

Florida’s legislative session started this week, and we have three solid pro-gun bills introduced in the House.

And I need you, Florida’s gun owners, to fight hard and be loud!

HB 17 by Rep. Dr. Joel Rudman repeals Florida’s mandatory waiting periods. If enacted, a gun buyer can take possession of their firearm as soon as the background check is completed. Yes, you read that right — no more waiting to take possession even after the background check is done.

Rep. Rudman’s bill fixes that and goes a step further too. If the FL Dept. of Law Enforcement (FDLE) takes too long and doesn’t complete the background check within three days, the dealer can release the firearm. No more waiting around and having your rights delayed.

HB 1223 by Rep. Bobby Payne restores gun rights for young adults. This bill restores the right to legally purchase a firearm for those who are under 21. Sadly, back in 2018, under the leadership of then Governor Rick Scott, Florida’s Republicans stripped young adults in the state from being able to legally exercise their Second Amendment rights. Again, HB 1223 fixes that and restores their rights.

HB 1619 by Rep. Michael Beltran makes Florida a true Constitutional Carry state. This bill repeals the Open Carry ban and goes a step further; it removes several gun-free zones. These include polling places and college/university campuses. If enacted, Florida would join the 45 states that have adopted Open Carry. Currently, only Florida, California, New York, Illinois, and Connecticut ban it.

In fact, Florida is the only Republican state in the nation to ban Open Carry, ban adults under 21 from being able to purchase firearms, and have mandatory waiting periods for firearm purchases. These three bills fix these issues and bring Florida to the same level playing field as other Republican states.

I need you to contact the House Speaker and Governor and tell them that you will accept nothing less than these bills passing.

It was because of your hard work — not only last year but in years past — that we got permitless carry passed for concealed carriers. And it will be because of your hard work this year that we will get these bills heard and passed.

In Liberty,

Luis Valdes
Florida State Director
Gun Owners of America

PS – Please share this alert and donate to GOA. Also, click here and read GOA’s latest article in the Orlando Sentinel, where GOA calls out the Republican leadership for the previous failures to advance pro-gun legislation. WUCF-TV/PBS said it best about GOA, we’re the only “no compromise” gun rights organization in Florida.

 

[ilbob]

Good luck.

 

[Miami_JBT]

This is why I need you to contact Gov. DeSantis.

How can Florida's Republican House Speaker, Rep. Paul Renner, claim to be pro-gun, while stating that HB 1619 (Open Carry) is dead on arrival and he won't advance it?

He claims that since his fellow Republicans in the Senate are against it, he won't waste the House's time advancing the bill since he believes it won't pass the Senate.

Yet, as House Speaker last year, Rep. Renner had no problem allowing Rep. Bobby Payne's bill advance when he knew Senate President Kathleen Passidomo was against it. What was Rep. Payne's bill? It was the bill that would repeal Florida's under 21 purchase ban.

House Speaker Renner had no issue wasting the House's time last year with Rep. Payne's bill. But suddenly, he's conservative and worried about the House's precious time this year.

Sorry, that doesn't fly Mr. Speaker.

Be honest with Florida's gun owners. Let HB 1619 advance in the House! Let the Senate Republicans show their anti-gun colors. Stop covering for 'em. This is an election year, let there be recorded votes on where Republican lawmakers stand on Open Carry.

By smothering the bill, you're protecting their voting records and allowing Republican lawmakers who are anti-gun keep "clean" voting records so they can campaign that they're pro-gun.

 

[Miami_JBT]

Crunch time: A look at some bills struggling to stay alive as FL Legislature begins to wind down - Florida Phoenix

We’re now two-thirds of the way through the 2024 Florida legislative session, and, as the saying goes, the writing is on the wall on some pieces of legislation that likely won’t pass. With the caveat that anything is possible in terms of some of these measures, the Florida Phoenix took a look at...

floridaphoenix.com

Republicans in both chambers of the Legislature this year introduced proposals to repeal certain provisions of 2018's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. Those provisions came out of the Feb. 14, 2018 Parkland school shooting that killed 17 students and staff.

There's HB 1223, which would lower the age to buy a long gun in Florida from 21 to 18. As was the case in the 2023 session, the House bill is moving, but it's not going anywhere near Gov. Ron DeSantis, who would have to sign such a law. There is no Senate version.

Another GOP gun repeal measure also looks doubtful. The proposal (HB 17) would require the mandatory waiting period for all firearm purchases to expire after 3 days, regardless of whether a background check has been completed. This measure has support in the House, and DeSantis told CNN last month while on the presidential campaign trail that, "I think the background checks should be instant." (The governor has suspended his presidential campaign.)

However, the Senate version has not been pursuing the measure. And Second Amendment advocates are not at all pleased by the developments.

"You have a Republican House Speaker state that he and his Republican colleagues don't have an 'appetite' to debate and vote on open carry. You have a Republican Senate President state that repealing the under-21 purchase ban is a 'non-starter' Yet both have the nerve to campaign that they're pro-gun," says Luis Valdes, Florida state director of Gun Owners of America (GOA).

Valdes and other Second Amendment aficionados are also steamed at DeSantis for failing to push for an open carry law which he said he supported a year ago. That measure (HB 1619) was introduced at the beginning of the 2024 session by Hillsborough GOP Rep. Mike Beltran but was immediately dismissed by Republican leadership last month.

"GOA got him on record where he said he 'absolutely' supports open carry," Valdes says. "Well, actions speak louder than words and the governor's inaction is deafening."