Well, I guess we'll be briefed in on "the plan" at some point. Let us just hope it doesnt involve us sitting quietly in the corner, like good little sheeple,and lubing ourselves up for the next bend-over.....
I'm dropping this into the mail. We really could use their help. I'm not done editing it. But everyone of us should send something thankful and well thought out too.
Unified Sportsmen of Florida.
PO BOX 1387
Tallahassee, Florida 32302
Dear Ms Hammer,
Thank you so much for all your efforts in Talahassee over the last several decades. You are truly this state’s greatest civil rights activist.
The 2011 session saw a failed attempt to make right one of the few significant infringements that remain in the state: the open carry ban. I wrote this letter because I was so disappointed by the result. I feel that the NRA and Senator Evers may have fumbled. I sense that the NRA does not appreciate the power of the growing “open carry” movement. I believe that open carry is one of the reasons for states beginning to dismantle the gun control edifice.
Concealed carry is a right. Open carry is more of a right even if it is not as popular. This is of course why 29 states don’t regulate it at all. There are endless utilitarian arguments for a person to openly carry; this goes without saying, given our state’s climate alone. The NRA understands what a devastating impact the norming of guns into society has on the “gun control” agenda. It is my position that open carry is a powerful but too often neglected weapon in this norming process. Our opponents have admitted this. The Brady Campaing, the Violence Policy Center, and others have plainly stated that if the popularity of open carry continues, they are finished. It reminds people of their rights, it reminds them who the soverigns are, it reverses the notion that guns are dirty, evil objects that we must cover up like our private parts. In Florida, we only see the state bearing arms. More importantly, it is illegal for anyone but agents of the state to bear arms in public. This must change.
It may not have made a difference, but not once did you or Senator Evers mention the word “rights” in committee in the Senate. Contrast this with the arguments given by Representatives Dorworth and Baxley in the House committee. “Accidental Exposure” was half of their argument. The more import half focused on the chilling of a natural right. Mr Baxley said it was “all about control” and he was right. That committee hearing saw a vote in our favor of 14-4, including 2 democrats. I wonder if we would have had a different result in the other chamber if we were not afraid of looking kooky? In the Senate, Mr Evers tried to sneak open carry through by only mentioning accidental exposure. The result was vague language that doesn’t even solve the accidental exposure problem becoming law, along with some insignificant improvements in other areas.
We have a House and a Governor who are strongly pro open carry, and from what I can tell, we only needed one more vote for it in the Senate! From now on, there will be grass roots efforts to get a clean open carry bill passed as is enjoyed in almost every other state. I hope you and the NRA can be convinced of the potential of this legislation. Please consider how open carry has the ability to make gun control groups irrelevant by letting people realize that our rights are not to be feared; that pieces of metal and plastic are not to be feared. I hope you and the NRA consider making open carry ( intentional open carry!) a priority in the “shall issue” states where it is illegal.
Sincerely,
