Second Amendment Rights Squashed in Florida :: 02/22/2015

You have all heard the story of Dale Norman, the man in Fort Pierce who walked out of his house with his freshly minted Florida concealed carry license and was arrested because he did not realize his firearm was partially exposed.

The local judge denied any and all constitutional arguments to have the case thrown out, and the court convicted Norman.

According to the non-profit, non-partisan, and grassroots organization, Florida Carry, which is also helping to fund Mr. Norman’s defense, “The County Court judge also did not fully consider the Second Amendment or the Right to Bear Arms under the Florida Constitution; denying those motions to dismiss the case because the question of the right to bear arms “is for someone above the level of this court.”

According to a Florida Carry press release about the court ruling:

Yesterday the 4th District Court of Appeals issued a ruling in Norman v. State, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 2178.

The Right to Bear Arms has now been completely Infringed in Florida. That fundamental right enumerated in both the Florida Constitution and the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is no-longer your birthright. In its place is a license that you must pay the government to possess.

The court correctly recognized that the right to bear arms outside the home does exist, then it went on to eviscerate the right in favor of the privilege of a license that you must pay for.

Don’t have enough money to pay for your right? Tough, you can’t have it unless you pay up.

Get arrested while legally carrying? Tough, the Florida Concealed Carry License serves as merely a defense to the crime of carrying any type of firearm. Every time you carry you are breaking the law, tell it to the judge that you have the affirmative defense of a license and that it was only a concealed handgun.

Have a stalker and need to exercise your right now? Tough, you have to wait up to 90 days. Unless there is an administrative issue with your fingerprints or background check, in that case the timeline for issuance is suspended almost indefinitely.

Have any type of firearm other than a handgun? Tough, the right to bear arms only applies to handguns in Florida.

Carrying a handgun concealed and it becomes accidently [sic] exposed for a few minutes before you notice? Tough, you’re going to jail because the exposure wasn’t brief enough to satisfy the officer on the scene of your crime.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/02/20/second-amendment-rights-squashed-in-florida/