Alachua County Commission will discuss challenges from gun rights group on August 11
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – Florida Carry, a grassroots organization dedicated to the 2nd Amendment rights of Floridians, has notified Alachua County that four of its ordinances violate state law by regulating firearms lawfully carried for defensive purposes.
Emergency restrictions on the sale or transportation of firearms
Section 27.08 of the Code of Ordinances allows the County to “[s]uspend or limit the sale, dispensing, or transportation of alcoholic beverages, firearms, explosives, and combustibles” during a state of emergency.
Prohibition of firearms on Bivins Arm Lake
Section 261.02 states that on Bivins Arm Lake, a designated wildlife sanctuary, “the operation and use of motorboats and/or firearms of any kind… are hereby prohibited.”
Prohibition on bringing weapons into the county courthouse
Section 123.42 prohibits any person except law enforcement officers from bringing any weapon into the county courthouse: “No person, except law enforcement officers as defined and provided for in F.S. ch. 790, shall carry firearms, explosives, or destructive devices, as defined in ch. 790, either openly or concealed, into the county courthouse. No person, except law enforcement officers, as defined and provided for in F.S. ch. 790, shall carry a weapon, either openly or concealed, into the county courthouse.”
Signs at the county courthouse prohibit weapons
Section 123.46 directs the County Administrator to post signs at the entrance to the courthouse building, “notifying persons of the electronic security scan device and the prohibition regarding the carrying of firearms, weapons, explosives, or destructive devices into the courthouse.”
Voluntary correction requested
In its letter, Florida Carry requests the voluntary correction of these violations, noting that the four ordinances regulate “the possession, carrying, or lawful use of firearms on county property, a subject the Legislature has expressly reserved to the State, to the exclusion of regulation by the county.”
The letter asks the County to immediately cease enforcing these prohibitions, remove any signs, and provide written notice of the County’s intent to repeal or amend the ordinances within 30 days of receipt of the letter. Florida Carry states that it will “pursue all legal remedies available” if the violations are not corrected, but “[we] would nonetheless prefer to avoid litigation.”
County Attorney promises discussion on August 11
In a July 21 letter, County Attorney Sylvia Torres acknowledged receipt of Florida Carry’s letter and said that staff would place the matter on the County Commission’s August 11 agenda. Her letter concludes, “We will await the Board’s direction following its consideration of this matter.”
Keep up the great work, Florida Carry!
If I were called for jury duty I’d want to carry from the parking garage to the courthouse. Didn’t they used to have lockers for storing firearms?
Maybe Ward and company would read them a poem but since the crazy bums have knives and metal pipes I would like my own protection.
Good luck with Section 123.42. That is specifically addressed by Florida Statute. https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0790/Sections/0790.06.html
Before some get all bunched up, is it really worth being arrested to take a firearm into an area prohibited by FS 790.06(12)(a)?
That being said, some of the locally enacted legislation this challenges, is exactly the type of ‘poking the bear’ acts and legislation idiot Ingle forgets about.
Nothing specific to Gville/Alachua Co…Florida Carry has civil rights lawsuits all over Florida to challenge unconstitutional laws like the ones you reference above. Many municipalities are acknowledging and rescinding these unconstitutional laws while others are contemplating or resisting change.
Specifically which is unconstitutional? Why should anyone be permitted to take a gun onto school property or into a courthouse?
Maybe I’m missing something.
Read the article again. They’re all unconstitutional because they infringe on constitutional rights provided by the second amendment. They are not just randomly challenging laws…there is a clear legal basis for challenging the referenced civil rights infringements.
The government ghouls are not the only group entitled to bare arms as they see fit. We also have that right even though certain governments have continually fought to strip us of that right. The entire raison d’être
of the second amendment is to keep authoritarian government in check. Liberty is much more important than perceived safety.
Try reading the state statute. Better yet, research District of Columbia vs Heller (2008). Specifically Justice Scalia’s opinion. If you remember correctly, he was one of the most staunch proponents for 2nd Amendment rights ever. But feel free, if you’re that confident—to exercise that right by entering either courthouse, with your firearm, and tell bailiffs you’re there to see one of the judges. I’m sure that will go over well.
People like yourself are so easy.
You are completely missing the point. I don’t understand why you are unable to figure this out. Local government cannot set laws restricting our second amendment right.
I do not walk around carrying all of the time so your hypothetical is just a straw man…I’m arguing this out of principle, not because I feel some desire to bring a gun in the courthouse to intimidate a judge. If there is some superseding law on this then fine, but this entire article is about Florida Carry taking legal action against local laws that infringe on civil rights.
Read the article again—it specifically lists Section 123.42 (https://library.municode.com/fl/alachua_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIIADCO_TIT12LAENCODE_CH123CO_ARTIVSECO_S123.42PRIT), along with others.
My point regarding 123.42 was simple: good luck with that. The County didn’t write that as a new law, they put in a prohibition that mirrored the state statute.
Straw man? If you feel so strongly about your principles, you should definitely give it a go. I never said “intimidate a judge” either. I said tell the bailiffs, after you walk through one of the metal detectors and send your personal effects through the X-ray machine, that “you’re there to see a judge.”
I also asked which is specifically unconstitutional with reference to FS 790.06(12)(a). No one has answered yet.
We’re on the same team here, just looking at two different pages.
This is also a county government that wants to stop ICE (a Federal Government agency) from enforcing a federal law. Let’s get some popcorn 😆
Gun freaks are nuts to oppose common sense rules that protect citizens and employees doing difficult work where emotions can run wild.
We need leadership that protects citizens, fight that fight please!
Gun freaks? I am a registered voter without a criminal record. I own a .45, a long rifle and an AK-47. I go target shooting and personally do not hunt. I am a firm supporter of individual rights and obligations by citizens to obey laws. I will use my weapons to defend myself. Thanfully I have never had to. i hope never to. My right to own weapons is enshrined in our constitution. The reason for the 2nd amendment is to prevent us from having to live through what the Iranian government is doing to their own citizens. Go ahead, prove me wrong.
What part of the constitution do you not understand? American citizens have right to own and carry a gun and face the facts that you don’t understand. Criminals do not obey Gun laws only law abbiding citizens do.
Everyone is a law-abiding citizen until they break a law.
Except for the left-wing nuts, most people are in favor of the 2nd Amendment. The problem is, there should be limitations—and there are—where a person is permitted to carry a firearm.
I don’t think people should be able to carry firearms on school campuses. We’ve seen or heard of many idiots from both sides who have been stupid, crazy, and acted angrily in and around schools. Take an average elementary school of 700 students, maybe 3/4 of them still in a two-parent household; that’s ~1,050 adults. That still leaves 175 other adults. Is it really worth the risk of having the possibility of 1,225 firearms on an elementary school campus that your children or grandchildren may be attending?
There’s ZERO guarantee that everyone will remain calm and rational should something happen to their loved one at school. A bully interaction, a teacher who suspends a child, or a principal who doesn’t assign the teacher a parent wanted. Firearms have ZERO place in that environment.
First of all a school age child cannot carry a gun at all, so where do you come up with all these guns in school at? Are you just running your mouth?
Try again genius. Maybe math isn’t your strong point.
It obviously isn’t your common sense.
You voted – your opinion on this civil rights issue reminds me of those who supported the various authoritarian mandates during the covid hoax. You cannot balance liberty and perceived security. One has to give.
Our constitutional rights (well beyond the second amendment) have historically been unlawfully kneecapped by legislators & executives and this should not be allowed to continue unobstructed.
This compromising mindset you hold is exactly why the government was able to lock so many people down and mandate the mystery shot on millions of unassuming folks.
At the end of the day, SCOTUS has already ruled on firearms in courthouses.
If someone rejects their prior precedents because they disagree with certain restrictions, they’re probably not basing it on constitutional law but more likely political affiliations. Then they’re just picking and choosing which laws they think should apply to them.
The Florida Statute that states the areas where firearms are not permitted is still the law—until the legislature or higher court determines it’s not.
I stopped reading at ‘common sense’…..
can they keep the panhandlers out of 39th & Waldo ? That’s a public safety issue..
and, we need to protect citizens from the homeless crime violence emergency we are having here..fight that fight please!
I stand firmly by my beliefs. The Second Amendment is enforceable, and the city of Gainesville and Alachua County are seriously violating it, especially concerning the issue of ICE. As of June 7, 2024, Florida was not among the states with the highest gun death rates. Carrying a concealed weapon empowers individuals to protect themselves and their families. Why are there so many mass shootings at schools, churches, and other places where children and families gather? It’s because those locations often lack armed individuals who can defend them.
Can’t wait for the local-government-sponsored “gun violence” interpretive poem reading about Florida Carry’s legal demands.
Oh the horrors!!!
Hear ye hear ye.
The state of Florida has a LAW.
Only they can regulate firearms and ammunition.
Alachua is violating state statute 790.33 by having ANYTHING about FIREARMS in their ordinances.
This is the ONLY thing Florida Carry is currently addressing in Alachua.
Just stop breaking the law county officials and police. Simple.