Guns Locked In Cars Bill Passes Hurdles And Is Ready For Full Florida Senate Debate....

Report On Senate Bill 1130 – Ready For Final Senate Floor Debate Now

REPORT on Senate Floor Action on SB-1130 - Guns-Locked-In-Cars

Date: April 4, 2008
TO: USF & NRA Member and Friends
FROM: Marion P. Hammer
USF Executive Director
NRA Past President

Senate Bill 1130 by Senator Durell Peaden (R-Crestview) was heard on second reading on the SENATE FLOOR, yesterday, Thursday, April 3rd.

First reading is when the bill is formally introduced. Second reading means the bill has passed all committees in the Senate and is now ready to be brought up on the Floor for questions and the amendment process. Third reading is when the bill is allowed to come back to the Floor for debate and final action.

On second reading of SB1130, anti-gun Senators filed 15 amendments for anti-gun business groups in an effort to gut or derail the bill.

Some amendments were designed to:

~~ ban so-called "assault weapons" (semiautomatic firearms) from cars in parking lots;

~~ ban guns in any parking lot used by pharmacies or stores that sell "controlled substances" like prescription medication, cough syrup, allergy pills, etc.;

~~ ban guns in cars at gas stations;

~~ ban guns in cars in parking lots of any property where electricity could be generated -- like emergency power/back-up generators (that all shopping centers, stores and large building and facilities have) solar power panels, windmills, etc..

ALL OF THE ANTI-GUN AMENDMENTS WERE EITHER DEFEATED OUTRIGHT OR WITHDRAWN.

The Senate then adopted amendments to conform SB 1130 to HB 503 and put the bill in position for debate and final passage when the Senate next meets in session -- currently scheduled for next Wednesday, April 9th."

The anti-gun business groups are led by: Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Publix, Best-Buy, Walgreens, CVS, and most of the major gas stations in the state. In other words pretty much every last place you'd go to shop, so even thinking of a boycott is out of the question unless the desire to return to mountain caves and start all over again is a pressing one. Even many small business jumped on the anti-ban-wagon, but this is Florida and when something as public as guns is discussed the politicians know that the people will remember each and every time they go to work that their local hired help did them wrong. And this time around the hunters are on our side, as innumerable hog and bird hunters take their weapons to work anyway but soon they won't have to worry about being fired if found out.

Governor Charlie Crist is making noises that he may not sign the finished bill into law, but the inside trackers tell me that he's doing it so as not to tick off the big money boys. I've said it before and it bears repeating...

If he screws with us on this the next step is to begin a recall election.