Official GOA Florida Thread. Fire Missions, Legislative Info, etc posted here from GOA

[Miami_JBT]

Any and all news from the GOA regarding FL will be posted here.

[Miami_JBT]

Urge Speaker Sprowls to Push for Pro-Gun Reforms by clicking here and filling out the letter that is sent to him and other FL Lawmakers.

Tell Speaker Sprowls that you resent the fact that the Florida House operates as a legislative dictatorship whereby committee chairman and leadership are allowed to pick and choose favored and disfavored bills and prevent rank and file representatives from voting on such weighty measures like HB 6001.

Please also let Speaker Sprowls know that you expect his leadership group to oppose HB 25 and to make sure that it is defeated.

HB 6001 would repeal Florida's onerous ban on self-defense concealed carry on college campuses.

HB 6001 would repeal Florida's onerous ban on self-defense concealed carry on college campuses.

HB 6001 is a good bill, but GOA wants to help make it even better. The way to do that is to not only repeal the carry ban on campus, but to also repeal the carry ban at collegiate athletic events which in most cases take place on campus.

GOA has spoken with Rep. Sabatini, and he agrees with our assessment. He has committed that if HB 6001 receives a public hearing he will offer an amendment to make HB 6001 into a great bill.

HB 6005 repeals Florida's onerous and unconstitutional ban on the sale, display and carry of firearms or ammunition when any public official has declared that a state of emergency exists.

Earlier this year, anti-gun Mayor Keith A. James of West Palm Beach declared a state of emergency due to nationwide riots and unrest. That is when the practical effect of F.S. 870.044 was on display for all to see when the state of emergency was used to force the closure of the Guns and Range Training Center. The business was already suffering due to COVID-19 and this forced closure really harmed the gun store.

Rep. Dan Daley has introduced HB 25 which mandates that you submit to a background check to purchase ammunition.

[Miami_JBT]

Contact your FL State Representative and have them co-sponsor HB 6001 & HB 6005.

As we informed you, Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R) has introduced two pro-gun bills in the Florida House: House Bill 6001 and 6005.

So, who are the power players in the House that can be allies and adversaries?

So far, Rep. Stan McClain (R-District 23 of Ocala) and Rep. Spencer Roach (R-District 79 of Fort Myers) have signed on as co-sponsors of HB 6001.

For those who don't know, HB 6001 (if passed) would finally legalize concealed carrying on college and university campuses.

Rep. McClain is a veteran of the Florida House since 2016 and actually co-sponsored a bill to outright repeal the gun control passed after the 2018 Parkland shooting and he voted, of course, against said gun control when it was being ramrodded through the legislature. Rep. Roach is a recent newcomer to the House, being elected in 2018 after the Parkland gun control was passed.

So far, no one has co-sponsored HB 6005, Rep. Sabatini's bill that would strip government officials' powers to bar firearm and ammunition sales during declared states of emergency.

So, who are the bad guys and blockers, you ask?

Well, first and foremost we have Rep. Dan Daley (D-District 97 of Coral Springs) as bad guy Numero Uno. He's introduced House Bill 25, a bill that mandates background checks on ammunition. We already know that such a measure would in no way would stop criminals from conducting crimes since only the honest citizenry actually follows the law. Criminals don't and won't.

Furthermore, the idea of foisting such an additional task on an already beleaguered Florida Department of Law Enforcement would add additional restrictions on Floridians' Second Amendment Rights. We're already facing delays in background checks under FDLE's Firearm Purchase Program, and the idea of having over 24 hours to purchase a box of .22LR cartridges is ludicrous. HB 25 will almost certainly result in a New York style ban on online ammunition sales.

Remember, a right delayed is a right denied.

Then, we also have the House Speaker himself as a possible problem pro-gun bill blocker. Rep. Chris Sprowls (R-District 65, northern end of Pinellas County) voted in favor of the Parkland Gun Control back in 2018.

Since Florida is a state where not all bills automatically get a committee hearing and vote, this means that, as Speaker, he has the power to decide which bills are to be heard and which are to die on the vine. As such, we have a duty to contact House Speaker Sprowls and let him know that we want Rep. Sabatini's bills to have a fair reading and vote in a House committee.

As Sen. Dennis Baxley told me a few years back, Republican lawmakers won't push Pro-Gun legislation if all they hear from gun owners is silence.

So please take action (above) by using the form above today.