Posted on 04/26/2005 8:07:37 PM PDT by neverdem
MIAMI, April 26 - Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill on Tuesday giving Florida citizens more leeway to use deadly force in their homes and in public, a move that gun-control groups and several urban police chiefs warned would give rise to needless deaths.
The measure, known as the "stand your ground bill," lets people use guns or other deadly force to defend themselves in public places without first trying to escape.
Floridians already had the right to defend themselves against home intruders under what is known as the castle doctrine, but until now, they could not do so in public.
The National Rifle Association lobbied hard for the bill's passage, and Wayne LaPierre, the group's executive vice president, said it would use the victory to push for similar measures elsewhere. The bill's sponsor, Representative Dennis K. Baxley of Ocala, said it would curb violent crime and make citizens feel safer.
"It's a clear position that we will stand with victims of violent attacks when the law is in their favor," said Mr. Baxley, a Republican who has sponsored several socially conservative bills this legislative session, including an effort to keep the brain-damaged Terri Schiavo alive. "People want to know we stand on the side of victims of crime instead of the side of criminals."
Governor Bush, a Republican, said he supported the measure because when people faced life-threatening situations, "to have to retreat and put yourself in a very precarious position defies common sense."
But John F. Timoney, Miami's police chief, called the bill unnecessary and dangerous. Chief Timoney, who has successfully pushed his police officers to use less deadly force, said many people, including children, could become innocent victims. The bill could make gun owners, including drivers with road rage or drunken sports fans who get into fights leaving ball games, assume they have "total immunity," he said.
"Whether it's trick-or-treaters or kids playing in the yard of someone who doesn't want them there or some drunk guy stumbling into the wrong house," Chief Timoney said, "you're encouraging people to possibly use deadly physical force where it shouldn't be used."
He added, "I don't think it's been thought out enough."
Chief Chuck Harmon of the St. Petersburg police and Sheriff Ken Jenne of Broward County also publicly opposed the bill. The Florida House of Representatives voted 94 to 20 in favor of the bill earlier this month, while the Senate, usually less conservative, passed it 39 to 0.
The measure codifies in state law what many courts have already ruled in Florida: that a citizen need not try to escape an intruder in his home or workplace before using deadly force in self-defense.
The measure also goes a step further, allowing "a person who is not engaged in unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be" to use deadly force without first trying to flee.
Florida was among the first states to allow people to carry concealed firearms, and Sarah Brady, chairwoman of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a national gun-control group, said she was not surprised that the N.R.A. lobbied for the new law here first. Mrs. Brady said that she had not even been aware of the measure before it passed, but that she would now rally opposition to similar bills in other states.
"The populace in Florida is very much common sense and on our side," Mrs. Brady said, "but the State Legislature is very conservative and the N.R.A. has control of them. I'm just sick. It's just a terrible, terrible bill."
Mrs. Brady, whose husband, James, was seriously injured in the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, said that while the Florida measure was disheartening, other states were taking a different stance. On Monday, Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, a Democrat, vetoed a bill that would have let people carry loaded guns into bars.
Still, Mrs. Brady conceded, "we are going to have to get busy and fight."
Mr. LaPierre of the N.R.A. said his group would introduce the bill in every state, and he predicted it would win broad national support.
"We will start with red and move to blue," he said of the states. "In terms of passing it, it is downhill rather than uphill because of all the public support."
Terry Aguayo contributed reporting from Miami for this article.
It's time to join the NRA. If you're already a member, please place the initials in your tagline. Exsoldier, I know you don't have the space. Thanks.
bttt
You will get no argument from me on this subject. If your state has reasonable requirements for licensee's, Great! And thank you very much for the link to www.packing.org.
Done!
Thanks. Let's see if this catches on and we can get more Freepers to join the NRA. Like Nugent said, we need 40 million members to stop the libs at the next election.
But sometimes that very tactic pays off big. Witness the former Metro Dade Police Chief that is now the current Metro Dade MAYOR and has his eyes on higher office. This guy is a disciple of the LA and NY version of gun rights. Watch ot for Carlos Alvarez.
Prior to 1980
Vermont No law
New Hampshire 1923
Washington 1961
Connecticut 1969
1980s
Indiana 1980
Maine 1985
North Dakota 1985
South Dakota 1986
Florida 1987
I will!
I have no reason to doubt the states and dates that you cited. The Florida battle for concealed carry privileges was the first that garnered significant national attention and one of the first big defeats for modern gun control. For whatever reason, maybe just because the MSM paid attention for the first time, Florida marked the turn in the tide.
Fighting Back: Crime, Self-Defense, and the Right to Carry a Handgun
Ten years ago this month, a controversial "concealed- carry" law went into effect in the state of Florida. In a sharp break from the conventional wisdom of the time, that law allowed adult citizens to carry concealed firearms in public. Many people feared the law would quickly lead to disaster: blood would literally be running in the streets. Now, 10 years later, it is safe to say that those dire predictions were completely unfounded. Indeed, the debate today over concealed-carry laws centers on the extent to which such laws can actually reduce the crime rate.
To the shock and dismay of gun control proponents, concealed-carry reform has proven to be wildly popular among state lawmakers. Since Florida launched its experiment with concealed-carry in October 1987, 23 states have enacted similar laws, with positive results.
FWIW, I found your comment on my thread because I came back to it by accident while looking for current NRA strategies, i.e. expanding concealed carry and the castle doctrine in other states.
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