New Fla. gun law...

[Brutuskend]

Hummm, kinda scary if you ask me...

 

[K1052]

Nice scare tactics by the Brady people.

:roll:

 

[fbrdphreak]

For those who don't want to watch the video:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co...rticle/2005/10/04/AR2005100400136.html

MIAMI -- Clark Ramm sees shades of the Wild West in Florida's new law giving greater legal protections to people who shoot or use other deadly force when threatened or attacked.

"It seems like everybody ought to be packing a piece," said Ramm, a visitor from Ukiah, Calif., who found out about the law Monday from a gun control group handing out leaflets at Miami International Airport. "I don't know if that's the right thing to do."

Carline Omisca hands out flyers advising travelers about Florida's new gun law Monday, Oct. 3, 2005, at Miami International Airport in Miami. The law, which took effect Oct. 1, says a person has "the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so, to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another."

The leaflets begin with the words "An Important Notice to Florida Visitors" in bold red type by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

"Do not argue unnecessarily with local people," it says. "If someone appears to be angry with you, maintain to the best of your ability a positive attitude, and do not shout or make threatening gestures."

Florida's "stand your ground" law, which took effect Saturday, means that people no longer must attempt to retreat or defuse a threatening situation before using violence in order to later claim they were acting in self-defense. People already had that right in their homes, but the law now allows them to meet "force with force" in any place they have a legal right to be.

The right to "stand your ground" does not apply if the person is confronted by a law enforcement officer.

Proponents of the measure, pushed by the National Rifle Association, say it will make Florida a safer place, not more dangerous. Gov. Jeb Bush has repeatedly pointed to a 34-year low in state crime statistics to demonstrate that Florida is not a haven for violence.

"It's pure, unadulterated politics," Bush said last week of the Brady Campaign's tactics. "Shame on them."

The Florida tourism industry, however, is taking the campaign seriously, with Visit Florida _ the state's official tourism marketing arm _ issuing a statement calling Florida "a very safe and secure destination that excels in caring for its visitors."

"We believe that Americans and international visitors are smart enough to understand that the Brady Campaign is one group's political agenda and not a real safety issue," the statement said.

Florida hosts more than 1 million visitors on any given day, with nearly 80 million tourists visiting the state in 2004, according to Visit Florida.

The Brady Campaign leaflets, which the group intends to hand out for about a month at the Miami and Orlando airports, call the measure the "Shoot First" law and urge people to "take sensible precautions" while visiting the state.

"There is no other state in the nation _ and no other civilized nation on Earth _ that has a law like this," said Brady Campaign spokesman Peter Hamm. "It could cause the most aggressive people in society to overreact."

The group also has taken out ads in major Detroit, Chicago, Boston and London newspapers about the new Florida law.

Several people who got the leaflets at the Miami airport on Monday appeared taken aback by the new law.

"It's a little scary," said Melissa Vosberg, on her way home to the Chicago area after a cruise in the Bahamas. "It's 'shoot first, ask about it later.'"

 

[blakeatwork]

If everyone carried a gun, everyone would be much more polite I think...

Or hell, ban guns, but let everyone carry a sword or something..

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

It's basically the same standard we use in Alaska. And what's more, you don't need a special premit for concealed carry up here.

You'd think that would make this the wild west with showdowns at high noon. Truth is it never happens like that. But criminals DO get shot when they break into people's homes and homeowners have little to fear when they are forced to take such measures. :thumbsup:

BTW... this would probably go over better in P&N

 

[Queasy]

Clark Ramm sees shades of the Wild West in Florida's new law giving greater legal protections to people who shoot or use other deadly force when threatened or attacked.

He immediately loses credibility with his "Wild West" metaphor. That along with "Nazi" and "Hitler" are dead giveaways that a person is not to be taken seriously.

 

[MommysLittleMonster]

This is similar to a policy/law in Alaska?

On first thought, he seems scary and not necessary. But what are the crime rates in Alaska compared to Florida (before the gun law?)

 

[mwtgg]

Excellent.

 

[DaShen]

R

 

[Viper GTS]

Florida has been pretty gun friendly for ages, the only thing this really changes is it removes the requirement to retreat.

In most states outside of your own home your first obligation is to leave the area & confrontation if possible. Only within your own home do you have right to stand your ground.

:thumbsup: to Florida, if you have a legal right to be where you are you should not have to retreat if threatened.

Viper GTS

 

[Mill]

:thumbsup:

Great law. If someone is attacking me and I have a gun, why should I run and let them get me from behind or get some other innocent?

 

[Mill]

BTW, guns kill people -- blah, blah, blah. *Vomit*

Ok, that covers you anti-gun idiots.

 

[mwtgg]

Oh yeah, nice try, Brutus.

 

[MiniDoom]

:thumbsup:Great law. It?s good to see some politicians still have common sense.

 

[cmdrmoocow]

It's about time we have a law thats actually for the good of the people.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Sounds to me like the anti-gun people are putting their own spin on the law to make it sound much worse then it really is.

 

[MommysLittleMonster]

Opinions on this forum are very subjective because most people here are pro-gun ownership.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: Mill
:thumbsup:

Great law. If someone is attacking me and I have a gun, why should I run and let them get me from behind or get some other innocent?

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: MommysLittleMonster
Opinions on this forum are very subjective because most people here are pro-gun ownership.

This board is very socially liberal and fiscally conservative. A bigger groups of Libertarians than I've ever seen. The only people here that are typically anti-gun are trolls, more estrogen than a Miss American pageant, or just stupidly liberal.

 

[gnumantsc]

The only reason why you don't have "high-noon" in Alaska is because there aren't really that many different cultures and races up there compared to Florida.

This just in 1/3 of the population of Florida has been killed due to new law

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: gnumantsc
The only reason why you don't have "high-noon" in Alaska is because there aren't really that many different cultures and races up there compared to Florida.

This just in 1/3 of the population of Florida has been killed due to new law

Per this law, it would take someone attacking or threatening to attack a person for that individual to legally be able to pull out their firearm. This helps would-be victims and harms would-be attackers. But, the anti-gun lobby isn't concerned about that.

 

[OFFascist]

Meh this isnt anything new in Texas.

It just brings Florida's laws more inline with common sense. Why should someone be forced to retreat instead of dealing with the criminal themselves, I'm glad this law changed that.

 

[spidey07]

Bravo for florida!

:thumbsup: