Florida Allows the Second Amendment

Florida has suffered from a number of local ordinances that have restricted and even criminalised possession of firearms.  This is despite a 1987 law that makes it illegal to pass gun regulations beyond state statutes.  Because that law contained no enforcement provisions, local municipalities have been free to pass gun restrictions at will.  Due to this disregard of the state law, there is now the Penalties for Violating Firearms Preemption Law:

Starting October 1st, any public official who passes or enforces gun regulations below the state level faces a $5,000 personal fine and could even be removed from office by the governor for enacting or enforcing local gun laws. . . .

The new law won’t really expand gun rights so much as it will greatly clarify legal firearms possession, transport, and use – eliminating inevitable confusion for law enforcement and citizens alike.

What is certain is this – Governor Rick Scott has sent a clear message that the right to bear arms enshrined in the 2nd amendment to the Constitution is not a parking regulation or a picnic permit to be issued, denied, or changed at the whim of any middling bureaucrat.

The article alludes to the recent news from the UK that sales of baseball bats (not cricket, but baseball bats) have increased some 6000% because of the riots in a variety of large English cities.  The UK's draconian gun control laws are likely a key ingredient in the sharp increase in violent crime, and is a good link to the idea of what happens when the government restricts gun ownership, particularly in this case where it is in blatant disregard of the Second Amendment and state law that specifically prohibits such restrictions.

It is an unhealthy reliance that one places on local law enforcement, to expect them to keep the peace without recourse to personal responsibility.  No matter how effective or responsive a police force may be, they only show up after a crime has been committed.

(H/T to Instapundit)