FL: Tallahassee Mayor Claims Power to ignore State Law

Gun Watch ^ | 14 January, 2017 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

Mayor Gillum Image from Youtube

In Florida, the State government has chosen to protect residents rights to keep and bear arms by restricting the actions that local governments can take.  This is call preemption, and it means that only the State can pass laws restriction the carry, possession, and use of guns.  It insures that the laws regarding guns and firearms use are uniform across the state. People exercising their right to keep and carry weapons will not have to guess about whether they are violating an obscure local ordinance when they cross some unmarked local boundary. Every state has some form of firearms preemption law on the books. Some are more protective than others.

Many Florida local governments chose to ignore the law. They kept illegal ordinances on the books, and even threatened prosecution of individuals, although the ordinances themselves were illegitimate.

The Florida legislature responded by providing penalties for individuals in local governments who chose to ignore and violate the preemption law. From citylab.com:

The mayor refers to the law as “super-preemption.” Like state preemption laws across the country, including North Carolina’s notorious H.B. 2, Florida’s firearms statute forbids city or county governments from passing certain local policies—in this case, laws regulating the sale or use of firearms. But Florida’s law goes much further: It opens up local government officials to lawsuits, penalties, fees, and even removal from office for even attempting to pass a bill contravening state law.

Recently, the city of Tallahassee was sued to remove laws that violate the preemption ordinance from their books.  It is a remedy the preemption law provides to bring cities that openly defy the law into compliance.  Mayor Gillum has chosen to openly defy the preemption statute and challenge it in court. Mayor Gillum is a rising star in the Democrat party.  He spoke at the Democrat national convention.

From wfsu.org:

The first district court of appeals must consider whether the city went afoul of the law when it left a pair of provisions regulating gun use on the books. Eric Friday, general counsel for the gun rights organization Florida Carry says the law is clear.

“These officials took swore an oath and took a job to follow the laws of Florida and the’ve chosen not to do so. They have chosen, or they have stated here, that they want to continue to regulate fire arms whether the legislature tells them they can or cannot,” Friday says.

But city attorneys argue the state’s preemption law violates city commissioners’ rights under the state constitution. Lauren Lennon says that’s because it violates the commissioners’ legislative immunity by carrying penalties and fines, even allowing them to be personally sued based on how they vote.

It is the duty of state legislators to keep local officials in check. Local governments are creatures of the State. States are independent of the Federal government because of the structure of the Constitution, where the checks and balances in the power structure are defined. States have some powers, but not unlimited. The federal government has some powers, but not unlimited. Individuals have rights, but not unlimited. Local governments are creatures of the State.

Elected officials do not have immunity to violate peoples rights. That principle has been well established in federal law, in Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242. From justice.gov:

TITLE 18, U.S.C., SECTION 242

Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, ... shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if bodily injury results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnaping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.

In the Florida pre-emption case, the State of Florida is saying that local officials do not have the authority to vote to violate individual rights, and that they can be held to account if they do so.  Voting to put someone's rights in danger is a little different than arresting someone for exercising their rights. It is the predicate act to doing so.

It may be a few months before the case is decided in the courts.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

[marktwain]

May Mayors and and governments below the level of the state vote to violate state law? It will be decided in the courts.

[Popman]

Seems like every elected official nowadays think they run their own little kingdoms...

[major-pelham]

It amazes me how the lefties are so in favor of nullification by governmental entities but croak the no cake baking individuals. Statists, as long as they approve, everyone of them.

[IamConservative]

Are we seeing the first signs of civil society breaking down? The veneer of law and order is very thin. When it goes, it will go fast IMO.

[Doogle]

REMOVE him

[marktwain]

If you are going to have civil society break down, you need to threaten peoples sense of security.

Make it hard for them to secure food.

Make water uncertain.

Make being secure in their homes uncertain.

We are an incredibly rich society, and we are very, very far from those situations.

I believe the tendency to law and order in American society is much more durable than you do. If local law enforcement becomes unreliable, we will self-organize militias or vigilance committees.

It is what we have always done.

[Blennos]

May Mayors and and governments below the level of the state vote to violate state law?

If they can, then what is the point of having state laws?

[jmaroneps37]

Another insane delusional liberal who thinks he can make up his own laws.

[jmaroneps37]

Another insane delusional liberal who thinks he can make up his own laws.

[The Antiyuppie]

This is a direct result of the deemphasis of civics in K-12 and the emphasis of how very, very, very bad those old dead white Americans were for the world.

[The Antiyuppie]

I predict that by 2020 Dem politicians may outnumber drug dealers in the prison populace.

[BillM]

Nope, just put toll booths on every road going in.

[dila813]

But they won’t hold criminal illegals.

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Ping

[mewzilla]

Paging tourists....

[mewzilla]

Tallahassee economy: 'fairly healthy'

This one article explains a lot. Scroll down for the diagram that shows who works at what in Tallahassee. Guess who the largest employer is...?

[Oldhunk]

The Florida panhandle is quite conservative, except for the City of Tallahassee. With two major universities and all of the state government workers, only liberals are elected to public office. The City has the distinction of having the highest crime rate in the state.

[mewzilla]

I’ve always wanted to visit Florida. I’m rapidly losing the desire.

[captain_dave]

When I was a Town Commissioner (town council member) in a small Florida town 7 years ago I wanted to pass an ordinance requiring household firearms ownership, like in Kennesaw Georgia. However, state preemption wouldn’t allow it. The State of Florida has exclusive jurisdiction.

[PROCON]

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