Good Grief, The Loons Must Be On The Verge Of Hari-Kari...

Florida...kicking liberal ass, one bill at a time...

A bill supported by the National Rifle Association and Unified Sportsmen of Florida to prohibit confiscation of firearms following hurricanes (such as was done in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina) passed the Florida Legislature Thursday, May 4, and is on its way to Governor Jeb Bush (R) for his signature.

HB-285 sponsored by Representative Mitch Needelman (R-Melbourne) in the House and Senators Carey Baker (R-Eustis) and Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) in the Senate does the following:

1. Amends the Emergency Management Powers Act to prohibit the governor from ordering or authorizing the seizure, taking, or confiscation of firearms that are lawfully possessed, unless a persona is engaged in a criminal act.

2. Amends the Emergency Management Powers Act to prohibit any public official from ordering or authorizing the seizure, taking, or confiscation of firearms that are lawfully possessed, unless a persona is engaged in a criminal act. The bill passed the House 116-0 and passed the Senate 40-0.

That's right. Try and pull a Nagin' by spitting on the Constitution, and you've just comitted a criminal act.

Where's the rest of the Union? Resting on undeserved laurels, I'd imagine. By the way, this one was a shutout in the House and Senate as well.

And just so the hunters don't feel left out, Florida has THEM covered too:

A bill supported by the National Rifle Association and Unified Sportsmen of Florida to protect hunting lands and our hunting heritage passed the Florida Legislature Thursday, May 4, and is on its way to Governor Jeb Bush (R) for his signature.

HB-265 Sponsored by Representative Don Brown (R-DeFuniak Springs) in the House and Senator Nancy Argenziano (R-Crystal River) in the Senate does the following:

1. Establishes a baseline number of acres of public hunting lands, equal to the number of acres open for hunting on the effective date of this act.

2. Requires the Florida Wildlife & Conservation Commission (FWC) to find replacement hunting lands for any public hunting lands that are closed in the future so the number of hunting acres does not fall below the base line.

3. Requires FWC to try to find replacement hunting lands in the same region as the lost acreage and to the extent possible, allow the same type of hunting as was allowed on the closed land.

4. Requires state agencies and water management districts to assist and cooperate with FWC and allow hunting on lands they manage if the land is suitable for hunting. However, state parks are excluded from lands that may be used for replacement lands.The bill passed the House 118-0 and passed the Senate 40-0.

So, in a nutshell, not only will Floridians soon be able to carry concealed weapons in National Forests and State Parks, but the tree-huggers can't play their old tricks and ban existing hunting grounds because some 5-legged frog passes by on the third Sunday of every other full moon.