Free Republic

Thanks to state preemption law, only the Florida Legislature can enact measures regulating the sale, possession, transfer of firearms in the Gunshine State. But that’s not going to stop some city and county officials from attempting to implement ‘voluntary’ gun-control, the Sun-Sentinel reports. Under a proposal backed by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, city and county officials would ask gun shops and ammo suppliers who have sales contracts with law enforcement departments around the state to follow certain “sales and marketing safeguards,” when conducting business. Those safeguards include asking the stores to run background checks on employees, train personnel to...

GROVELAND, Fla. - Another bomb threat has been reported at a Lake County school on Monday morning, according to officials. Lake County Sheriff's Office said a bomb threat was reported at Clermont Middle School. Deputies and Clermont police officers are on scene investigating. It's not clear if evacuations have been ordered at Clermont Middle School. The second bomb threat report comes hours after students and staff were evacuated from South Lake High School in Groveland. School officials said students, who were taken to the school's football field, were not being released from the campus.

Elementary schools in Seminole County were evacuated this afternoon after receiving bomb threats, a Seminole County Sheriff's spokeswoman said. Deputies evacuated Casselberry, Winter Springs, Lawton, English Estates, Red Bug, Lake Orienta, Forest City and Spring Lake elementary schools, sheriff's spokeswoman Heather Smith said in a statement. It was not immediately clear whether the threats were valid. Deputies are investigating where the calls came from. Officials are reporting that Winter Springs, Forest City and Lake Orienta have been searched and cleared.

It’s now or never for Jeb Bush. The former Florida governor flirted with presidential runs in 2008 and 2012 but ultimately demurred, always with the flickering possibility of mounting a campaign down the road. But at 61 years old, the second son of former President George Herbert Walker Bush is now likely facing his last shot at the White House.

The Florida governor’s race — on pace to be 2014’s most expensive, grueling campaign — is a dead heat with six weeks until Election Day, according to a new poll out Wednesday. Florida GOP Gov. Rick Scott and Democrat Charlie Crist are neck-and-neck in the new Quinnipiac University poll. Scott is at 44 percent among likely voters, the survey shows, compared with 42 percent for Crist and 8 percent for Libertarian Adrian Wyllie. Scott has a slight edge over Crist among independents, 44 percent to 37 percent. And the gender gap tilts in his favor: He leads Crist by 8...

In this unusual Florida case, the two suspects are said to have attacked an armed citizen who was in his car, to have taken his gun, and fled the scene.   It all happened at a McDonald's drive-through, when the victim honked at the attackers who were ahead of him and who had received their order, but had not driven off.   From myfoxtampabay.com: Police say the Gregory Fulham got out of the car, went to the driver's side of the car behind them and started punching the man, who had pulled a gun from his glovebox. Police say Kevin Fulham...

Hillary Clinton will headline a fundraising dinner for Florida Democratic gubernatorial Charlie Crist next month, putting her in a key presidential state in the midterms battle, according to an invitation.

BELL, Fla. - A mass shooting has been reported in a small town near Gainesville on Thursday night.The shooting was reported in the town of Bell in Gilchrest County, which is about 140 miles from downtown Orlando.It's not clear how many victims were shot, but there are reports that children were among the victims.A news conference is set for 8 p.m. Local 6 has a crew on its way to the scene.Check back for more on this developing story.

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is in a behind-the-scenes struggle with the White House, congressional Democrats and Washington insiders who have lost confidence in her as both a unifying leader and reliable party spokesperson at a time when they need her most. Long-simmering doubts about her have reached a peak after two recent public flubs: criticizing the White House’s handling of the border crisis and comparing the tea party to wife beaters. ....One example that sources point to as particularly troubling: Wasserman Schultz repeatedly trying to get the DNC to cover the costs of her wardrobe. In 2012,...

In the next decade, Florida’s biggest cities will add toll lanes to the state’s busiest highways. Nobody knows exactly how much it will cost. Maybe as little as $3 billion. Maybe double that. What’s clear is that when the toll lanes across the state are complete, they will become one of the largest infrastructure projects in state history. There’s little debate that the toll lanes, also called express lanes or managed lanes, make commutes quicker for those willing to pay as much as $10 to use them. But there has been little debate about the need for the projects —...

While the United States leads the world in most ways, it has lagged in the adoption of mufflers for guns.   In most of Europe, mufflers on guns are not controversial.   In Finland, ownership, manufacture, sale, distribution, and use of gun mufflers is a constitutional right.   On most of the continent, gun mufflers are easier to acquire than firearms; their use is considered good manners. Not so in the United States.   Due to a weird quirk in firearms law passed during the Roosevelt administration, gun mufflers require a $200 dollar tax to be paid to the federal government.  Processing of...

...Crist spoke to over 1,000 voters on Saturday night, in Downtown Orlando about his faith and vision for the future of Florida.... The group in attendance came in the bus loads, and the venue was at capacity. They leaned to the left as they cheered Crist’s pledge to raise the minimum wage, healthcare, and supporting policies popular with the dreamers. “I did all of this as a Republican” Crist said “Imagine what I’ll do as a Democrat!”. "....I was raised a Methodist. Raised with three sisters. It makes you appreciate women more and their rights. This I know about God....

...Obama will visit U.S. Central Command, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, on Wednesday for a briefing from his commanders on battle plans against the Sunni insurgent group Islamic State. ....White House officials made it clear that there would also be no U.S. military forces on the ground in Syria to coordinate airstrikes, nor have any done so in Iraq. But as the President continues to coalesce U.S. and international efforts to “degrade and ultimately defeat” IS, and Pentagon officials say they are making headway against IS in Iraq, two former Centcom commanders offer mixed reviews of his plans. “I...

Charlie Crist is siding with the teachers union — not African-American ministers — over a new lawsuit that seeks to dismantle the state’s major school-choice program..... Crist made his choice clear Wednesday when he refused to heed the request of a major Panhandle civil-rights leader, the Rev. H.K. Matthews, who asked the Democrat to “publicly denounce” a new teacher union-led lawsuit that seeks to dismantle the major school-choice program. “You cannot stay silent on this lawsuit,” Matthews wrote. “These families deserve to know if you support or oppose the lawsuit to evict 70,000 poor — and mostly minority — children...

Marco Rubio: Let’s Reject The Veiled Isolationism Of Obama And Clinton Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google PlusShare via EmailMore Options By Marco Rubio September 12 Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. President Obama’s call on Wednesday for the United States to lead an international military campaign in the Middle East has the potential to begin a departure from the isolationism that he and former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton have advocated during their years in office. There is a risk, however, that the...

When dealing with criminals, it is important to know that they cannot be trusted.  They lie.  If you are holding them at gunpoint, they are likely to tell you anything that they think will be to their advantage.   You might hear a sob story to the effect that they needed money for their children's shoes, or that this is the "first time" this ever happened.   An interesting example just occurred in Florida, where a burglary suspect offered to mow his victim's lawn.  From myfoxtampabay.com: Cihak saw Remley digging through his living room and then fired two shots after he...

Republican Gov. Rick Scott has opened up a 5-point lead over Democratic rival Charlie Crist as a new Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9/UF Bob Graham Center poll finds Florida voters mostly optimistic about the state's economic direction but decidedly sour on their gubernatorial choices.....

A decorated WWII veteran, who never fired a shot while overseas, won a battle with a robber half his age on Saturday.   The hand to hand combat lasted until Arthur M. Lewis and the robber were both exhausted.   Lewis had shot the robber six times, four times in the chest, once in the arm and once in the wrist and leg.  Lewis himself was wounded with a graze to his left arm. Lewis' girlfriend says that people think of him as frail, but he is anything but frail. The alleged robber, Lennard Patrick Jervis, has been arrested...

Melchisedec Williams is 50 years old and legally blind.  He has no sight in his right eye, and only minor vision in his left, because of Glaucoma.  He took in his 15 year old nephew to try to help straighten the boy out after he got into trouble at his mother's house.   The nephew disappeared a week ago.  He was arrested last Sunday on a separate charge, the family reports.  From theglobaldispatch.com: Melchisedec Williams was woken up on Sunday night when he heard a crash and stomping. The 50-year-old man grabbed his gun, Tampa police said. The intruder, armed with only...