Florida CCW Bills Moving to floor

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SB-498 by Senator Joe Gruters (R)and HB-259 by Reps. Jayer Williamson (R) & Cord Byrd (R) were both heard in their respective committees.

The Senate bill was heard in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Tuesday 3/9/21 and the House bill was heard in the House Education & Employment Committee on Wednesday 3/10/21.
These bills REMOVE the ban on CW license holders carrying firearms for defensive purposes in churches, synagogues and other religious institutions. If the companion bills pass, license holders will be able to carry in religious institutions just like they do when they go shopping or into any other private property -- UNLESS firearms are prohibited on the property by the property owner or church.
The bill RESTORES the right and responsibility of churches, synagogues and other religious institutions to make their own decisions about when and who can or cannot carry firearms on church property.
Both bills were amended to REMOVE a requirement to "post" policies.
In the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on 3/9/21 -- SB-498 PASSED by a vote of 5-3.

In the House Education & Employment Committee on 3/10/21 -- HB-259 PASSED by a vote of 16-5.

Each bill has one more committee stop before being eligible to go to the floor. If you are in Florida and have a vote, write to your representatives and ask for HB-259 and SB-498 to receive an up-vote and passage from the floor to the Governor's desk. As always, be polite but firm and direct. My letter simply names the bills and asks that they be passed from committee and a supported on the floor.
 
I don't get the significance of this bill. It appears to legislate something that, if passed, will permit a specific act or conduct (and, in this case, one that is already permitted.) Usually, laws are passed to prohibit specific acts, and what is not prohibited remains permitted.

Florida does not currently have a state prohibition on carry within houses of worship or other religious institutions by CWFL-holders. What did I miss that necessitates this bill?
 
I don't get the significance of this bill. It appears to legislate something that, if passed, will permit a specific act or conduct (and, in this case, one that is already permitted.) Usually, laws are passed to prohibit specific acts, and what is not prohibited remains permitted.

Florida does not currently have a state prohibition on carry within houses of worship or other religious institutions by CWFL-holders. What did I miss that necessitates this bill?
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It does if there is a school associated with the religious institution under the Federal and State Clinton-era bans on firearms within a certain distance of a school and on school property. Florida law generally allows people to carry concealed weapons at religious institutions, but it bars being armed on school properties.

The pertinent section of the law is defined in the bill, if you read it. I'll quote it for you here but you really should read it for yourself @ https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/498/BillText/c1/HTML

790.06 License to carry concealed weapon or firearm:
(12)(a) A license issued under this section does not authorize any person to openly carry a handgun or carry a concealed weapon or firearm into:
[...]
15. Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law.
[...]
(b) A person licensed under this section may [prev. "shall"] not be prohibited from carrying or storing a firearm in a vehicle for lawful purposes.
The new provision of SB 498 adds this:
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, for the purposes of safety, security, personal protection, or any other lawful purpose, a person licensed under this section to carry a concealed weapon or firearm may carry a firearm on property owned, rented, leased, borrowed, or lawfully used by a church, a synagogue, or any other religious institution unless the church, synagogue, or other religious institution has a policy specifically prohibiting persons who are lawfully licensed under this section from carrying a firearm on such property.

This change does not stop property owners who lease or rent to a religious institution, or any religious institution, from banning firearms on their property but it separates the congregational area from the educational area, as legal entities as defined under Federal and State law for the purposes of forbidding legal concealed carry or open carry by permitted security staff. As FS790.06 stands now, anyone carrying a firearm on the property of a church where there is also a legally-defined "school" property is in violation of the law and can be arrested, charged and will lose their CWL and weapon if convicted.
 
I've been speaking before the committees for HB 259 and SB498. They're okay bills but better can be done by a Republican Supermajority State. These bills are simply table scraps being thrown at gun owners by FL Republicans.

We can have Open Carry, Constitutional Carry, and Campus Carry. Yet this is what they give us.
 
I've been speaking before the committees for HB 259 and SB498. They're okay bills but better can be done by a Republican Supermajority State. These bills are simply table scraps being thrown at gun owners by FL Republicans.

We can have Open Carry, Constitutional Carry, and Campus Carry. Yet this is what they give us.

It is possible the legislature is gun shy - pun intended - exactly because of the responses of legal gun owners in this state; to whit, "I don't get the significance of this bill." No offense to the poster of that comment, I'm sure he read the bill and didn't think it was significant because it doesn't go far enough - but I run into FAR too many gun owners who think their representatives are wasting time and effort writing ANY kind of gun rights legislation. The "common sense gun control" crowd includes a lot of gun owners. When I mentioned these bills at my local gun store, I got blasted by a "sportsman" for wanting to allow people to, "...carry machine guns in churches..." Yes, "those people" do also vote.
 
We can have Open Carry, Constitutional Carry, and Campus Carry. Yet this is what they give us.
Who do we write to or call? Keith Perry is my Senate representative and Chuck Clemons is my House representative. They both seem to be fully on board with Constitutional open carry. Tell me what we can do to MAKE them and the members not on board understand this.
 
Sent to my State Representative:
"Regarding HB 259: Better can be done by a Republican Supermajority State. These bills (paired with the Senate bill, SB 498) are simply table scraps being thrown at gun owners by FL Republicans. We can have Open Carry, Constitutional Carry, and Campus Carry. Yet this is what our Constitutional representatives give us? Sir, with all due respect, better must be done! Amendment 707993 is crucial for HB 259. Your support for that amendment is crucial.
Thank you."

Same email with bill names reversed sent to Senate Representative. We need to support GOA and NRA in getting the word out that these bills exist and - insufficient as they may be, table scraps or six-course-meal - if they fail, then we won't even get crumbs in the future.
 
I don't see how this changes anything relating to carry on the property of a school run by a church. It says you can carry on church property unless the church says no. That's how it was before. The new paragraph mentions nothing about schools.
 
I don't see how this changes anything relating to carry on the property of a school run by a church. It says you can carry on church property unless the church says no. That's how it was before. The new paragraph mentions nothing about schools.
If a Religious Institution rented or leased property from a school or had a school on their grounds. They were automatically a gun free zone. This bill simply gives the property owner the right to decide.

It is a very weak bill politically and it is a anti-gun Republican Supermajority throwing crumbs to Florida Gun Owners.
 
If a Religious Institution rented or leased property from a school or had a school on their grounds. They were automatically a gun free zone. This bill simply gives the property owner the right to decide.

It is a very weak bill politically and it is a anti-gun Republican Supermajority throwing crumbs to Florida Gun Owners.
If we can't even get a weak bill passed, what hope is there? Do we destroy the good for not being perfect? Or take a clue from our opposition and accept incremental changes that lead to our goal, even though they may take longer and require one step back to move two forward? Tyrants win because they are focused, patient and methodical. Patriots sadly lose because they are impatient and that impatience causes hope to wane.

If this bill passes, I'll take the win and complain about it being too little when the gun grabbers and communists decide to stop fighting.
 
I still don't see which would prevail, the legality of carrying on the grounds of a religious institution that also houses a school, or the prohibition on carrying on the property of a school, including one that happens to be housed by, or on the property of, a religious institution. In the proposed added text, the phrase "notwithstanding any other law" probably covers that, but I still think it's weak enough to be open to challenges.

At least, with the separation of "bars" and the "bar areas" of restaurants from general restaurant seating areas, provisions for clarification were included in the text of the law.
 
HB 259 passes the FL House. The NRA is calling this a good bill and is urging everyone in Florida to contact Senators and urge passage.

Under Florida Statutes in s.790.06, law-abiding citizens may receive licenses to carry concealed weapons and firearms (CWL) for lawful purposes.

Places where license holders are NOT AUTHORIZED to carry firearms are listed in s.790.06(12). Nothing in that section prohibits license holders from carrying in churches, synagogues or other religious institutions.

Nonetheless, anti-gun agitators have inserted language in other parts of the statutes that has been interpreted to prohibit firearms in religious institutions if any kind of child care is ever conducted, at any time, on the private property of the church, synagogue or other religious institution. That means if child care is conducted Monday-Friday from 9-5, no firearms are EVER allowed at any time including on Saturday or Sunday or any holiday.

This bill will put a stop to that and will allow license holders to carry on church property (just like any other private property) unless the church prohibits it.

This may not be a perfect measure but it is a step forward. Let's get it passed because if we don't, the anti-gunners will declare victory and push even harder for total confiscation.
 
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