Saturday, March 10, 2018

GUNS IN FLORIDA: Dueling Reform Needs Legislative Action. Guest Blog by Ross Hancock

Now that Florida has successfully addressed the gun threat to our schools, and the governor has signed the flawed Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act into law (with the votes of just a very, very few Democrats, including my own Miami State Rep. Nick Duran), the newly emboldened NRA is ready to solve other problems.

As the governor and legislature have made clear, gun violence is not caused by guns. It is caused by unarmed people. This is exactly what the gun industry and Constitutional scholars (such as that guy who always comments on any Facebook discussion that “assault weapon” does not mean “assault weapon”) have been saying all along.

With more people in the workplace and elsewhere fulfilling their duty to bear arms as ordained by scripture and the Second Amendment, the next legislative session is expected to take up the long-neglected issues surrounding dueling, and whether dueling needs more or less regulation. Florida is on its way, at last, to eliminating “gun-free zones,” where the lack of guns creates a public threat. So our public places cry out for clear rules of etiquette – the “Code Duello” that once governed trial by combat in Europe.

We already have “Stand Your Ground” laws, which cover the rights of the armed person when confronting a renegade unarmed person. But the situation in which two peaceful armed persons wish to lawfully and safely engage in a duel is currently unregulated. Once-sacred dueling traditions that were second-nature to the Founding Fathers are almost forgotten today, and clear rules are needed. (Especially in Florida, where even seemingly obvious things like traffic lights are interpreted inconsistently.)


The responsible gun-owner community has long been aware of the societal benefits of dueling. The rudeness that now pervades our lives, whether in public or online, would not have been allowed to fester back in the day when a justifiably wronged person could demand “satisfaction” on the spot. Workplace disputes and unfair commercial transactions that now clog our courts will soon be resolved by safe, economical duels. When disagreements can be nipped in the the bud, long-simmering antagonisms will no longer take their toll on the mental and physical health of our citizens, whether they be school cafeteria workers, Facebook users, or just drivers on U.S. 1.

The NRA can play a positive role by providing education and certification in the area of dueling etiquette, equipment and safety. They can also ensure that responsible legislation passes in a timely way. Some will object that regulation of dueling treads on the spirit of the Second Amendment itself. But the oft-overlooked “well-regulated militia” clause can, and should, be interpreted as opening the door to responsible rules.

6 comments:

Geniusofdespair said...

Does this cover my serrated edged zombie killing hunting knife?

Anonymous said...

Shame on you Genius! You claim to be an environmentalist and you are unable to see the solution to two problems that can be solved by guns.

"Thousands of dead fish have now washed up on shore along the coast of South Carolina. Today the NRA said that this wouldn't have happened if those fish had guns." –Jay Leno

Protect the fish, fish live in schools. Schools are best defended by more guns.

It all fits. How have I been missing this for so long?!

Confused on what passed: said...

confused: which bill passed...
#CallToAction: Call and email the Senators on Appropriations Committee (listed below).
Forget all the other gun bills we were working to defeat. They've all been thrown together into a new mega gun bill called SPB 7026. The bill has a few good things with some major loopholes & it allows teachers to carry firearms.
We must STOP this bill. Today at 11am, the bill will go to its final Senate Committee, Appropriations. If we don't stop it in this committee, it will go to the Senate floor and likely become law.

********Summary of the "Public Safety" bill SPB 7026********
Here's what it DOES NOT include: universal background checks, a ban on semiautomatic rifles like the AR15, or a ban on high capacity magazines. The current bill includes:

*a ban on selling bump stocks, but does not ban possessing bump stocks, so you can just purchase them online instead of a licensed dealer;
*raises the age to purchase rifles to 21. However, it has two big loopholes. First, the bill doesn't include universal background checks. This means a 19 year old can still purchase an AR15 if it’s a private sale. Around 20% of all firearms are purchased this way. Second, a 19 year old can still own a rifle. They just can't purchase it. So they can get a straw buyer or receive it as a gift;
*creates red flag laws that confiscate weapons from mentally unstable individuals. This is important, and works if police can provide clear & convincing evidence that the person is dangerous in order to obtain the court order;
*the majority of the bill focuses on providing resources to schools in the form of mental health counselors, school resource officers, & "school hardening" which is a euphemism for turning a campus into a prison-like environment;
*essentially, this language assumes that we will continue living in the tragic reality of easy access to AR15s & other deadly weapons. A world full of bullet proof glass, metal detectors, & steel reinforced doors. First our schools, then surely our movie theaters, concerts and churches;
*WORST PART: the bill allows the school districts & sheriffs to enter into an agreement to allow teachers to carry firearms. Polk County is already piloting this program. This is an NRA-backed idea that promotes the “good guy with a gun” fantasy. As a result, kids are being put in more danger! Dozens of kids & adults die everyday from misuse of legally owned handguns. Most alarming is we live a world where police kill unarmed black & brown kids because they’re afraid of them, now we are asking teachers to make constant threat assessments & judgement calls on whether a kid is a threat.
This bill is one step forward & ten steps back. It’s not only “not perfect,” it’s dangerous!

***Contact Information for members of the Senate Appropriations Committee:

*Chair: Senator Rob Bradley (R) --- voted YES in Rules Committee
(850) 487-5005; bradley.rob@flsenate.gov
*Vice Chair: Senator Anitere Flores (R) --- voted YES in Rules Committee
(850) 487-5039; flores.anitere@flsenate.gov
*Senator Lauren Book (D) --- voted YES in Rules Committee
(850) 487-5032; book.lauren@flsenate.gov
*Senator Randolph Bracy (D)
(850) 487-5011; racy.randolph@flsenate.gov
*Senator

Anonymous said...

I will be moving out of this state as soon as possible. I'm done.

Anonymous said...

How long will it take for people to realize that the NRA wants as many Americans dead as possible? These elected officials care nothing about the lives of children. The more of them who die while in school, the better. Killing 10-20 people in a few minutes is a good way to get rid of a lot quickly. Let's see how long it will be before the nex massacre.

Anonymous said...

Disgraced ex-commissioner Marc Sarnoff is a small man with a large gun collection. More children will die.