Florida House agrees to let some gun owners bring weapons to work

Gun rights advocates and the National Rifle Association won a victory today with the Florida House’s passage of a contentious bill that would allow employees to bring their guns to work.

The measure (HB 503) is a watered-down version of what the NRA had hoped for but is seen as a compromise that the Senate is also expected to sign off on.

Under the proposal, employees and visitors who have state-issued concealed weapons licenses would be able to bring their weapons to work and leave them locked in their vehicles.

The measure would exempt certain businesses from having to allow the guns, including schools, prisons, nuclear power plants, defense-related businesses and those that deal with explosive materials.

Also exempted would be company-owned or leased cars.

The business community, including the Florida Chamber of Commerce, has vigorously objected to the measure, saying it pits the property rights of employers against the Second Amendment rights permitting guns.

Got that? It was “gun rights advocates and the National Rifle Association” who won a victory.

Oh, and gun owners, too.

Civilian semi-auto version of the revolutionary sub machinegun:

The KRISS Vector CRB/SO is an ATF-approved, 38-State legal (folding stock), 16″ barrel semi-auto version of the KRISS Vector SMG. The KRISS Vector CRB/SO shares the same milspec frame, Super V operating system, materials and rugged housing as the KRISS Vector SMG. Same light weight. Same maneuverability. Same simple and easy to maintain Super V mechanism that reduces felt recoil by more than 60% and reduces barrel elevation by more than 95%. If your goal is put more rounds on-target, more of the time, then the CRB/SO will exceed your every expectation and demand.

The CRB/SO will be sold in two versions:

• The CRB/SO System, which contains the base weapon, folding stock, custom KRISS flip-up sights and 2 Glock 21 13-round magazines (where legal) and cleaning kit.
• The CRB/SO Tactical System, which contains all of the above, plus a custom case, full optics and light/laser system and single point sling and sling mounts.

More info here.

BB gun-carrying teen forces school lockdown

WOOD-TV 8:

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (WOOD) — A 16-year-old male carrying a BB gun on the property of an elementary school forced the building to be locked down.

It was Wednesday when the incident occurred at Coburn Elementary School at 39 Fairhome Avenue in Battle Creek.

School administrators noticed the teen with the gun, called police, and went into lockdown mode.

Officers arrived, searched the area, and found the teen who said he was only walking through the school grounds and never showed the gun.

The teen was later charged with being a minor in possession of a BB handgun and taken to the Calhoun County Juvenile Home.

The lockdown was then cancelled.

Public Believes Americans Have Right to Own Guns

Gallup results, which will surely be plastered on the front page of every newspaper and will lead off every evening newscast in the nation:

A solid majority of the U.S. public, 73%, believes the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the rights of Americans to own guns. Twenty percent believe the amendment only guarantees the rights of state militia members to own guns.

To be honest, I would have thought the number believing it applies only to militia would be a bit higher. I know a couple of folks who espouse this view, and maybe they’ve convinced me that their views are more widely held than they are.

Even more surprising to me are the results from those who don’t own a gun. It’s certainly no shock that gun owners don’t think the 2nd Amendment only applies to militias, but even non-owners think it means that individuals can own guns by more than a 2-1 majority:

I often have the feeling that a solid majority of American who don’t own guns are perfectly willing to dismiss the 2nd Amendment and to basically toss gun owners under the bus. Apparently that opinion isn’t quite as widespread as I have feared.

I must have got that feeling from reading the newspapers.

2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek – 758 Miles – Lansing Michigan to Washington, D.C.

Five Michigan fathers will pedal their bicycles 758 miles from Lansing, MI to Washington, D.C.

• Robb MacKenzie – Upper Penninsula of Michigan – US EPBT Founder – 2007 cyclist
• Robert Pedersen – West Michigan – 2007 Runner-Up Winner in Best Life Magazine’s National Hero Dad Contest, Co-Founder of A Child’s Right – 2007 cyclist
• Brian Downs, Esq. – Grand Rapids MI – Running for Judge in Kent County MI in 2008
• Derek Bailey, MSW – Traverse City MI – American Indian. Founder of Dance4Equality
• Mike Saxton – Lansing MI – Dads of Michigan

I’ve worked out my conflicts and will definitely be attending the 2nd Amendment Blog Bash at the NRA Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, in May.

There’s a great lineup of bloggers planning to attend and the convention should be a good one.

You don’t have to be a “gun blogger” to attend the Bash, and of course the NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits are there for all members.

Hope to see you there!

I hear too many people say that gun control efforts like handgun bans and limits on “assault weapons” have nothing to do with hunting. And many anti-gun efforts take great pains to make sure that hunters don’t feel like they’re threatened.

The problem, of course, is that anti-gunners work hard to divide and conquer. Once one segment of the shooting public has been defeated, it will be time to move on to the next.

In New Jersey, where the concept of “gun rights” is fading quickly, some activists have seen that it’s time for the next step:

Sport hunting should be illegal

A recent article on turkey hunting, described the sport as “addictive” and “fun.”

While we agree that spending time among wildlife and nature can be pleasurable, one does not have to include the violence of hunting for it to be a satisfying experience.

Indeed, the article also quoted turkey hunters saying that “I have called in birds and never squeezed the trigger.

The experience of calling them in was quite enough for me,” and “the quest is what really counts.”

For these hunters, it can be as beneficial to them as well as to the turkey if they took their next shots with a camera.

Hunting makes an unnecessary contribution to a world already plagued by too much violence and suffering.Wildlife and the outdoors can and should be experienced through activities such as camping, hiking and wildlife watching; ways to get close to nature without having to cause suffering and death.

Joe Miele
President
Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting
Maywood, N.J.

This was published in Mississippi’s Hattiesburg American.

Via Sebastian.

What percentage of Minnesota concealed carry permit holders have used a gun in the furtherance of a crime?

Great Blue Whale enlightens us.

Sort of defeated by the whole “long barrel on a short weapon” thing, isn’t it?

Anyway, picture at Johnson’s.

Stupid if true:

Officials are trying to decide whether to file charges against a Missouri man who fatally shot his wife while trying to install a satellite TV system in their home.

Thirty-four-year-old Patsy Long of Deep Water was pronounced dead Saturday evening after being shot in the chest with a .22-caliber handgun. Her husband, Ronald Long, fired the shot from the inside of their home after several unsuccessful efforts to punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means.

See Robb Allen for more on this.