divemedic
Member
DiveMedic, read the statute again. As you quoted it, it reads one cannot "use" a firearm when consuming alcohol to the extent of being "impaired". That law is aimed at drunken folks who shoot up road signs and the like. It does not address whether carrying a firearm concealed constitutes "using" it. Just because I am carrying a cellphone does not mean that I am using it.
Nothing in the law downright prohibits consuming any amount of alcohol while carrying a concealed firearm in accordance with CCW/CCF laws.
As you stated, opinions are nothing more... well, you get it.
(also, I never denied the existence of "gray areas" in the law; my post title acknowledged that.)
True, but if you are carrying a weapon while drinking, you can no longer use that weapon in self defense.
790.151 Using firearm while under the influence of alcoholic beverages, chemical substances, or controlled substances; penalties.--
(1) As used in ss. 790.151-790.157, to "use a firearm" means to discharge a firearm or to have a firearm readily accessible for immediate discharge.
(2) For the purposes of this section, "readily accessible for immediate discharge" means loaded and in a person's hand.
As soon as you draw it, you are breaking the law. So what is the point of carrying a weapon that you cannot even touch? There is a whole other discussion that is off topic for this thread.
and to numaone: I don't buy that at all. First, without reference, it is unverifiable and sounds like uban legend, since the police would not just sit there if a person saw someone carrying a gun- after all: how would they even know the guy had a CCW permit? If the gun was visible, why not just bust him for violating 790.053?