Drizzt
Member
The Miami Herald
April 1, 2003 Tuesday F1 EDITION
SECTION: B; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 517 words
HEADLINE: Agriculture chief locked and loaded
BYLINE: BY PETER WALLSTEN; [email protected]
DATELINE: TALLAHASSEE
BODY:
State Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson, the man who fights citrus canker, cattle disease and the Southern pine beetle, has asked permission to arm himself should terrorists invade the state Capitol.
Bronson, who holds a permit for his 9mm and 40-caliber pistols, asked the Capitol police last week if he could carry one of those weapons in the building should there be a threat from al Qaeda or some other nemesis.
The answer came Monday: As the head of an agency with a 250-man ''agricultural law enforcement'' division, Bronson is a sworn officer of the law and can carry a gun anywhere and anytime he pleases -- even into state Cabinet meetings, where he sits just steps from Gov. Jeb Bush.
''I would probably be a target, being a Cabinet member,'' Bronson said Monday. ''If they target the state, any of us, even in the House or the Senate or the Cabinet, would be targets.
''We're in the state Capitol,'' Bronson added. ''We have the president's brother in the building.''
If Bronson decides to fill his holster, it would be the first time in memory that a Cabinet member would be armed, according to state law enforcement officials.
A rancher and former Republican state senator who grew up in Central Florida cattle country, Bronson was elected agriculture commissioner last year after being appointed to the post earlier by Bush to fill a vacancy.
Bronson said Monday that he would carry a firearm only ''if something squirrelly is going on,'' and even then to protect others in the Capitol, not himself.
''I am a certified, badge-carrying law enforcement officer,'' said Bronson, displaying his law enforcement badge and permit. ''I see it as adding one more officer to the effort.''
Security at Florida's Capitol has been increased since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, with Capitol police installing metal detectors at public entrances.
While permitted gun owners can legally carry a firearm into the Capitol, state law prohibits any member of the public from carrying a firearm into a legislative meeting.
As a sworn law enforcement officer, trained at the police academy in Miami in the 1970s, Bronson would be exempt from that law and could carry his weapon unfettered throughout the building.
The commissioner's inquiry comes as other politicians in Florida's Capital have been expressing fear of an attack -- and planning a response.
Senate President Jim King alarmed some last month when he gave a speech to his colleagues warning them to plan for the worst and informing them of a secret plan to convene at an undisclosed location in case of emergency. Both King and House Speaker Johnnie Byrd now receive special protection, accompanied at all times by at least one armed Capitol police officer.
The governor is always guarded by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, but he continues to deride the notion of a large entourage.
Florida's two other elected Cabinet members -- Attorney General Charlie Crist and Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher -- do not have security, nor do they have any plans to add it, aides to both officials said Monday.
April 1, 2003 Tuesday F1 EDITION
SECTION: B; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 517 words
HEADLINE: Agriculture chief locked and loaded
BYLINE: BY PETER WALLSTEN; [email protected]
DATELINE: TALLAHASSEE
BODY:
State Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson, the man who fights citrus canker, cattle disease and the Southern pine beetle, has asked permission to arm himself should terrorists invade the state Capitol.
Bronson, who holds a permit for his 9mm and 40-caliber pistols, asked the Capitol police last week if he could carry one of those weapons in the building should there be a threat from al Qaeda or some other nemesis.
The answer came Monday: As the head of an agency with a 250-man ''agricultural law enforcement'' division, Bronson is a sworn officer of the law and can carry a gun anywhere and anytime he pleases -- even into state Cabinet meetings, where he sits just steps from Gov. Jeb Bush.
''I would probably be a target, being a Cabinet member,'' Bronson said Monday. ''If they target the state, any of us, even in the House or the Senate or the Cabinet, would be targets.
''We're in the state Capitol,'' Bronson added. ''We have the president's brother in the building.''
If Bronson decides to fill his holster, it would be the first time in memory that a Cabinet member would be armed, according to state law enforcement officials.
A rancher and former Republican state senator who grew up in Central Florida cattle country, Bronson was elected agriculture commissioner last year after being appointed to the post earlier by Bush to fill a vacancy.
Bronson said Monday that he would carry a firearm only ''if something squirrelly is going on,'' and even then to protect others in the Capitol, not himself.
''I am a certified, badge-carrying law enforcement officer,'' said Bronson, displaying his law enforcement badge and permit. ''I see it as adding one more officer to the effort.''
Security at Florida's Capitol has been increased since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, with Capitol police installing metal detectors at public entrances.
While permitted gun owners can legally carry a firearm into the Capitol, state law prohibits any member of the public from carrying a firearm into a legislative meeting.
As a sworn law enforcement officer, trained at the police academy in Miami in the 1970s, Bronson would be exempt from that law and could carry his weapon unfettered throughout the building.
The commissioner's inquiry comes as other politicians in Florida's Capital have been expressing fear of an attack -- and planning a response.
Senate President Jim King alarmed some last month when he gave a speech to his colleagues warning them to plan for the worst and informing them of a secret plan to convene at an undisclosed location in case of emergency. Both King and House Speaker Johnnie Byrd now receive special protection, accompanied at all times by at least one armed Capitol police officer.
The governor is always guarded by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, but he continues to deride the notion of a large entourage.
Florida's two other elected Cabinet members -- Attorney General Charlie Crist and Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher -- do not have security, nor do they have any plans to add it, aides to both officials said Monday.
