The Tyranny of Florida's New Gun Law
Forget the left; Republicans can self-destruct and are now apparently perfectly capable of deconstructing the U.S. Constitution all by themselves. And they have done so with lightning speed in the form of Florida’s shiny new gun control legislation. On its face, this new anti-firearm law is appalling, and shall we be brave enough to use the “T” word — tyrannical — in both form and function.
How so? In this brief analysis, Liberty Nation’s Managing Editor Mark Angelides and Editor in Chief Leesa K. Donner count the ways:
LKD: The skies here on the west coast of The Sunshine State are overcast today — a fitting tableau for what just happened in Tallahassee. It’s difficult to put into words the exasperation those of us who hold fast to the Second Amendment are experiencing today. And it is made even worse by the knowledge that a Republican-led state legislature and a Republican governor signed this atrocious new anti-gun law.
It is fraught with so many flaws it is hard to know where to begin? So why don’t we commence with the word that best describes this new law — Tyranny!
MA: It truly is a shocking move. As a Brit, one of the things I admire so much about the U.S. is that you fiercely defend your rights, especially regarding the Second Amendment. The new laws signed by Governor Scott include the most pernicious and tyrannical law I have ever heard of: ERPO or (Extreme Risk Protection Order).
ERPO allows police to forcibly remove firearms from individuals who own them legally, without any crime ever having been committed, and even without the person whose guns are being taken given the opportunity to speak with a judge, or even be informed!
This is exactly why the Second Amendment was written: To stop government tyranny from being able to deprive you, the citizen, of rights and due process.
LKD: I wonder if we will be saying, “Due process — what’s that?” in a few decades? Here’s what Floridians will get for their $400 million dollars: raising of the minimum age from 18 to 21 to buy a long gun, a ban of bump stocks (which weren’t even used in the Parkland school shooting), bulletproof glass for schools, longer waiting periods for gun purchases and the possibility of having your firearm confiscated. As for allowing teachers to be armed — ah, that was removed from the legislation.
So, there you have it, folks: a blueprint for the next 49 states to cut, copy and print. Let’s be brutally honest here Mark, if this is what the Republicans do can you wrap your brain around what the Democratic legislatures are planning for us?
MA: Honestly, I can’t. This is a complete capitulation to a leftist driven agenda. The fact that the age restrictions are now to stop under 21s from buying makes no sense whatsoever.
How can it be a sensible law that 18, 19 and 20-year-olds can vote in elections where the platform is likely going to involve gun legislation, yet not be legally allowed to own one? And these same young adults could be drafted into the military and have a gun thrust upon them.
No one has suggested that under 21s be banned from joining the army, where they would immediately be given a firearm. These new laws lack congruency, and that means fairness and equality. As the president would say, “Very Sad.”
LKD: Here’s what Cornell Law School says about “due process”: “The Constitution states only one command twice. The Fifth Amendment says to the federal government that no one shall be “deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, uses the same eleven words, called the Due Process Clause, to describe a legal obligation of all states. These words have as their central promise an assurance that all levels of American government must operate within the law (“legality”) and provide fair procedures.”
So where is the “fairness” and the “due process” in this new legislation? The answer is simple — it isn’t there. It is a clear violation of an American’s right to bear arms. Thus, by necessity, it must be challenged in the courts. But as we know the wheels of jurisprudence turn slowly in the U.S. and by that time how many of these frightful laws will already be on the books?
And then, of course, we must face facts that in places like the Ninth Circuit (aka the Ninth Circus) legislation such as this will never be overturned. So, then we are on to the Supreme Court, and we all know how long that takes.
Mark, I fear the Second Amendment is being sliced and diced so many ways it’s like “The Chopper” you see advertised on TV. Are we overblowing this situation or is it as bad as it seems? And if so, what can be done?
MA: No, Leesa. This is not overblown at all. It is a direct attack on the founding documents of your nation. You’re right that the wheels of “justice” turn slowly, and that this could take years even to reach the Supreme Court, by which point, it will have been enacted from one end of the country to the other.
What’s needed is a grassroots campaign that involves every single person who holds dear the right to “Due Process.” People from all across the spectrum need to come together on this, whether they want guns banned or not. This is a far bigger issue than even the Second Amendment; it is about protection from encroaching tyranny. How about #StopTheTyranny to get us started?
LKD: I like it! While I confess to not being a huge Abraham Lincoln fan, perhaps his words are more than a bit salient in this case: “… that a government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Leesa K. Donner is Editor in Chief of LibertyNation.com. A widely published columnist, Leesa previously worked in the broadcast news industry as a television news anchor, reporter and producer at NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates in Charlotte, Pittsburgh and Washington, DC. Her articles have appeared in American Thinker, CNS News and numerous other publications. She is the author of “Free At Last: A Life-Changing Journey through the Gospel of Luke.”
Mark Angelides is the Managing Editor of Liberty Nation. Hailing from the U.K., he specializes in EU politics and provides a conservative/libertarian voice on all things from across the pond. He is the editor and publisher of several books on Ancient Chinese poetry.
A version of this Op-Ed appeared on the Liberty Nation website.
The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.
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