Florida Firearms Freedom Act HB 21 Filed, But Note The Caution BELOW

Important Notice WITH CAUTION:

HB 21, the Florida Firearms Freedom Act, has been filed in the Florida House of Representatives by Marlene O'Toole. Our congratulations and appreciation go out to Rep. O'Toole for introducing this most important legislation.

At this point, the language of the bill is virtually identical to the that which was enacted in Montana. After studying the bill and related historical documents in some detail, I have concluded that the language in Section 2--LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS will likely prove an open invitation to significant problems subsequent to enactment. The most obvious defect are the words following the word "Constitution" in subsection 2(a) through the end of THAT subsection. The authors of the Montana bill agree that those words should be deleted.

Other subsections of Section 2 are in need significant rewording because they convey a materially wrong sense of the United States Constitution and/or the principles of federalism and/or a process of becoming a state. which may have applied to Montana, but which was different for Florida.

I am preparing a proposed revision to Section 2 that will, I feel confident, correct the defects noted. Contact has been made with key legislative offices about this concern, and it is my hope that they will agree the importance of making the corrections which should put the whole bill on much sounder ground. Regarding the Senate version, which has not yet been filed, it is possible that these changes to be made before a bill number is obtained. HB 21, because it has already been filed in the House, can only be changed in committee.

All other sections of the bill appear to be in good shape. It is those sections by which the legislative objective of the bill is achieved: namely to exclude from federal regulation and interference the intrastate manufacturer and sale of firearms.

So, what do we do? I recommend that we ask all representatives to sponsor both the Memorial (HM 19 of 2010) and the Florida Firearms Freedom Act (HB 21), but that with respect to the latter, we make the legislative offices aware that the defective language in section 2 of HB 21 “Legislative Findings” needs to be corrected.