By: Friedrich Seiltgen
Copyright © 2024
In the wake of the Parkland Shooting, Florida Governor and empty suit Rick Scott thought it would be a good idea to implement several new useless and unconstitutional gun laws. As usual, the bodies weren’t even cold before the cries of “More Gun Control, Ban Assault Weapons, and We Need to Do Something” rang out! Scott promptly obliged the left and RINOs and enlisted the help of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. If Bondi’s nomination as the top cop of the land makes you nervous, it should.
Florida decided that they would make the purchase of firearms for anyone under 21 illegal. That is unconstitutional. They outlawed bump stocks in Florida, also unconstitutional. And finally, they decided to enact a so-called red flag law that gives the state the right to confiscate weapons from persons deemed unfit. One of the main issues with that is the fact that a family member, neighbor, or total stranger would be able to petition the court to have your weapons taken away. You don’t know who reported you and are denied due process. This is, of course, unconstitutional and a violation of the 6th Amendment. Speaking of the 6th Amendment, the persons arrested during the J6 protest were held without bond, and many remain imprisoned. This violates the 6th and 8th Amendments, but who’s counting?
There were and are statutes and policies for all these cases, but you must use them. If a person is showing mental illness, there is the Baker Act. If a person has a substance abuse issue, which can be a precursor to violence, the family can petition a judge to have them evaluated involuntarily with evidence.
With regards to Parkland, the shooter was dealt with over 30 times by the Broward County Sheriff’s office, with a few instances of domestic violence. The DV charge alone makes him a prohibited possessor. Had Sheriff Israel and his office done their job, the shooting may never have occurred.
Going back to red flag laws, since you haven’t been arrested, you receive no public defender, so guess who’s paying your defense attorney? Victims of various red flag laws have been cleared and then began the nightmare of getting their weapons back. Many law enforcement agencies ignored the judge’s order and kept the guns. Many red flag victims gave them up as the cost of defense was too high.
As President Trump has previously shown, he’s not a big fan of the Constitution either. Trump directed the ATF to ban bump stocks in the wake of the still unexplained Las Vegas Shooting, where experts will tell you that one person with a bump stock is not capable of laying down that rate of fire. In 2018, he uttered the famous words, “Take the guns first, go through due process second.”
We won’t know Bondi’s current thoughts on the Second Amendment until she takes office. Hopefully, she will obey her oath of office this time and not sway from the Constitution again. Only time will tell.
That’s all for now, folks! Please keep sending your questions, tips, and article ideas. And as always – “Let’s Be Careful Out There.”
Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with 20 years of service with the Orlando Police Department. His writing has appeared in RECOIL, www.floridajolt.com, The Armory Life, The Counterterrorist Magazine, American Thinker, Soldier of Fortune, Homeland Security Today, Off Grid, and The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International.
Contact him at [email protected].