FL Senate President says she's against Open Carry because the Sheriffs are.

[TACC]

What day is the vote going on?

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[Miami_JBT]

What day is the vote going on?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

I'm tracking it at the moment.... I predict sometime next week. They want this done quickly so the political pressure can come to an end.

[Miami_JBT]

Florida RINO's Refuse To Amend Pro-Gun Bill In Defiance Of DeSantis

The Republican supermajority in Florida is against legalizing open carry.

Even after repeated statements in favor of the law change by Governor Ron DeSantis this week, the Republicans in Florida's legislative branch don't seem too keen on adding the legalization of open carry to their constitutional carry bill.

To make matters worse, Republican leadership is openly dismissive of the idea of legalizing open carry, something that is legal in 47 other states. Only Florida, Illinois, and New York have total bans on open carry.

GOA's Florida State Director, Luis Valdes, brought the debate on open carry to the forefront this week when he asked Governor DeSantis if he would support adding open carry to the current constitutional carry bill, to which the Governor confirmed he would.

https://youtu.be/-3k2D2mJ4cc

In the same statement, DeSantis expressed his doubt about the Republican Legislature legalizing open carry in the new bill, saying, "I don't think they're gonna do it."

DeSantis may be correct.

When asked about open carry being added to the current bill, sponsor Chuck Brannan apathetically stated that the bill "is what it is as filed," indicating that he has no intention of legalizing open carry. Senate President Kathleen Passidomo shared similar sentiments with Rep. Brannan.

Thirty-six years after Janet Reno, as Miami-Dade County State Attorney, worked to pass a ban on open carry, Republicans are still working to defend this unconstitutional law.

Now is the chance for Governor DeSantis to demand that the Republican Supermajority in Florida add open carry to the bill and finally remove Florida from the company of New York and Illinois on the issue of open carry.

Gun Owners of America has been working diligently in Florida to not only pass Constitutional Carry, but get open carry added to the current bill. It's time to pressure Republican leadership, and we need your help!

Please call the Florida Legislature at (850) 717-5019 & (850) 487-5028 and let them know you want open carry added to the bill.

[Miami_JBT]

Candid Brannan

[video=youtube_share;SzjhhdUt2fk][/video]

GOP lawmakers feeling the heat and on the defensive as gun rights groups push for 'open carry'

With GOP supermajorities in the Legislature, House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo can easily pass bills that top their agenda, but a gun rights bill has put Republican lawmakers feeling the heat and on the defensive these days.

That's because legislation this session about a permitless/'constitutional" carry bill requiring no permit or training class isn't enough for the gun advocates who have been streaming into the state capital.

There's clearly been a breakdown in what true "constitutional carry" means for gun rights advocates. And they want that bill to include a provision for Floridians to be able to openly carry firearms in public (current Florida law allows one to openly carry a weapon to and from hunting, fishing, camping and the gun range). It's called "open carry."

And things are getting a bit dicey.

At a Senate committee meeting last week, Matt Collins, a gun rights supporter, said that it was "embarrassing" for Gov. Ron DeSantis if he couldn't get open carry passed this year. It would be "political impotence on the part of Gov. DeSantis, Collins said. "It's failed leadership and it's weak," he added.

It happened after Serena Barker, a junior at Florida State University and the state chair of the group Young Americans for Liberty, was door knocking in Brannan's neighborhood and distributing a flyer, she told the Florida Phoenix.

A photo of the flyer (which can be seen on Matt Collins' Twitter page) shows Joe Biden apparently shaking Brannan's hand.

However, Brannan told Florida Politics that he has never met Biden.

Barker told the Phoenix the incident happened after she had initially spoken with Brannan's wife at their front door before he flagged her down.

"Maybe we just pull the whole thing, then ya'll can say, 'Well, we pissed them off and we didn't get nothing this year.' How about that?" a clearly annoyed Brannan is shown saying to Barker. Brannan then quickly adds in the video "take a win, lady, take a win."

After Barker says that "we're really just trying to protect the freedoms of the American people. We just are trying to restore the liberties -" Brannan comes back at her and says, "Not by lyin' you're not. You hurt Republicans, you hurt everybody. You're not doin' anybody any good."

Barker told the Phoenix on Monday that she truly wasn't intending on upsetting Brannan, but says she was surprised by his response and "the way that he didn't really care what I had to say."

Barker has appeared before the Legislature this year to lobby for open carry, and says she doesn't understand "in a state as red as Florida where we have a majority in both the House and Senate that we could not also include open carry and make sure that we're protecting our Second Amendment rights. It seems like they're using the (the Florida) Sheriffs Association as a cop out instead of actually listening to their constituents and what we want."

Insulting to our gun owners

Another gun rights advocate says the video shows that Brannan isn't respecting Second Amendment supporters.

"Threatening to pull the bill because gun owners want to make it better is insulting to our members and shows that some lawmakers are willing to possibly scuttle the governor's 2024 campaign," says Luis Valdes in an email to the Phoenix. He is the Florida director for Gun Owners of America, referencing Gov. Ron DeSantis. "All because gun owners simply want what the governor has pledged, fulfilled."

Valdes believes the governor truly wants open carry legislation. "The issue is the governor cannot create law – the legislators do," he says.

[Miami_JBT]

Florida permitless carry sponsor lashes out at activists: "Maybe we just pull the whole thing"

I’m not a big fan of targeting the homes of officials for protests, whether it’s abortion activists outside the residences of Supreme Court justices or 2A activists showing up at a state representatives house on a sunny Saturday afternoon, so I can understand Brannan’s exasperation, especially if the flyer that was being distributed really did include a doctored photo of him shaking Joe Biden’s hand. Honestly, it’s pretty ridiculous to imply that Brannan is doing Biden’s bidding by not including open carry in HB 543. It’s not like Biden is in favor of any form of bearing arms in public, so if Brannan was carrying Biden’s water he never would have proposed HB 543 in the first place.

No matter how annoying or inaccurate as these activists may have been, however, Brannan’s childish threat to pull the permitless carry bill was just as inappropriate. It’s entirely valid for gun owners to complain about HB 543 not being as strong as it could be, and I’ve yet to hear any Republican, including Brannan, offer up a substantial explanation for the absence of open carry. Instead, we keep hearing variations on what Brannan told one of the people outside his home over the weekend; “Take the win. There’s always another year [for open carry].”

That’s true enough, but it still doesn’t explain why lawmakers like Brannan are unwilling to do it now. Florida has a Republican supermajority, so Second Amendment activists are right to wonder why so many legislators are willing to keep Florida’s open carry law in line with California and Illinois rather than joining the vast majority of states that allow for open carry either with or without a concealed carry license. HB 543 as written would be a good step forward for Florida, and I’ll be happy to see it signed into law, but that doesn’t change the fact that the bill would be even better if it included an open carry provision.

I doubt Brannan will make good on his threat to pull HB 543 from consideration, especially at this late date, but I also suspect that the bill isn’t going to be modified to include open carry… at least not without Gov. Ron DeSantis applying some real pressure to lawmakers like Brannan. He doesn’t have to show up at Brannan’s doorstep, but it might be time to pick up the phone and give him a call, especially with Brannan daring gun owners to go vote for Democrats if they don’t like what Republicans are doing.

[Miami_JBT]

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/594732-if-gun-rights-activists-hate-permitless-carry-bill-chuck-brannan-says-lawmakers-could-just-kill-it/

The lawmaker behind a controversial gun rights bill says activists demanding more risk ending the Legislative Session with a loss.

Gun rights activists published video this weekend of state Rep. Chuck Brannan in a confrontation over his permitless carry legislation (HB 543). The bill would eliminate any requirement in Florida for a permit to carry a concealed firearm.

Brannan said the video was taken in front of his home when activists confronted him there on Saturday.

Some Second Amendment groups his bill doesn’t go far enough and want the Legislature to allow individuals to carry firearms openly in public places.

But the Macclenny Republican warned a camera-toting activist those demanding open carry may put at risk the bill moving through the Legislature.

“Maybe we just pull the whole thing,” Brannan said. “Then y’all can say, ‘Well, we pissed them off and we didn’t get nothing this year.’ How about that?”

“Lawmakers in Florida are choosing to put politics over our safety and wellbeing,” said Isabella Ensign, a part of Moms Demand’s Action’s Florida Chapter.

But supporters of expanding gun rights say the bill falls short, especially since Gov. Ron DeSantis already signaled he will sign an open carry bill.

“If the Governor cannot get a very friendly legislature to add open carry to this bill, then how do we think he will do trying to convince Congress to act on anything if he were to become President?” Collins told a Senate committee this week.

But Brannon in the video suggested those demanding open carry could ruin the chances for permitless carry. Notably, the Florida Sheriffs Association came out in favor of the existing House bill but has not supported open carry. Senate President Kathleen Passidomo also said he does not support open carry, and has based her position on the input of law enforcement.

“Take a win, lady,” Brannon told the activist in the video. “Take a win and go to the House and say there’s always another year.”

Brannan told Florida Politics the legislation he sponsored had been negotiated over months, and he is confident it can pass in both chambers of the Legislature.

The activist said she and others are “really just trying to protect the freedoms of Americans” and “restore the liberties.”

“Not by lying, you’re not,” Brannan replied. “You hurt the cause. You hurt Republicans. You hurt everybody. You’re not doing anybody any good.”

The activist says she believes Republicans are hurting themselves by not going farther with the bill.

“Vote for Democrats then,” Brannan said. “Who do you want to vote for?”

[Miami_JBT]

[TACC]

Listened to the interview, Great Job !

Hopefully with the national attention maybe it will help push some good things in our direction.


Keep us posted on updates

[CDI]

Any updates on when this is getting voted on? I hope they don't let it die on the vine.

[CDI]

That was a great interview. I heard it on the radio.