Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog
Below is some information I on proposed Florida gun legislation.
The following bills have been filed to protect your constitutional and statutory right to have a firearm stored in your vehicle in a parking lot for self-defense and other lawful purposes.
House Bill 503 by Greg Evers (R) (CO-SPONSORS) Mitch Needelman (R)
Preservation and Protection of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles Act of 2008: Creates “Preservation and Protection of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles Act of 2008”; prohibits public or private entity from prohibiting customer, employee, or invitee from possessing any legally owned firearm that is lawfully possessed & locked inside or locked to private motor vehicle in parking lot; prohibits such entities from violating specified privacy rights by verbal or written inquiry or by search to ascertain presence of firearm within motor vehicle; prohibits certain actions by public or private entity against customer, employee, or invitee; prohibits employer from conditioning employment upon agreement by prospective employee that prohibits employees from keeping legal firearm locked inside motor vehicle; prohibits employer from attempting to prevent or prohibiting any customer, employee, or invitee from entering parking lot of employer’s place of business when customer’s, employee’s, or invitee’s motor vehicle contains legal firearm; prohibits employers from terminating employment of or otherwise discriminating against employee, or expelling customer or invitee, for exercising specified constitutional rights; provides specified immunity from liability; provides for enforcement of act; provides for award of costs & attorney’s fees.
Senate Bill 1130 by Durell Peaden (R) Preservation and Protection of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles Act of 2008: Creates “Preservation and Protection of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles Act of 2008”; prohibits public or private entity from prohibiting customer, employee, or invitee from possessing any legally owned firearm that is lawfully possessed & locked inside or locked to private motor vehicle in parking lot; prohibits such entities from violating specified privacy rights by verbal or written inquiry or by search to ascertain presence of firearm within motor vehicle; prohibits certain actions by public or private entity against customer, employee, or invitee; prohibits employer from conditioning employment upon agreement by prospective employee that prohibits employees from keeping legal firearm locked inside motor vehicle; prohibits employer from attempting to prevent or prohibiting any customer, employee, or invitee from entering parking lot of employer’s place of business when customer’s, employee’s, or invitee’s motor vehicle contains legal firearm; prohibits employers from terminating employment of or otherwise discriminating against employee, or expelling customer or invitee, for exercising specified constitutional rights; provides specified immunity from liability; provides for enforcement of act; provides for award of costs & attorney’s fees.
WHY THESE BILLS ARE NEEDED
These bills will stop business entities from searching private vehicles and violating the constitutional rights of customers and employees.
Your Second Amendment rights are at the very heart of this issue. In addition to prohibiting searches of private vehicles in parking lots, these bills also prevent businesses from asking customers or employees to disclose what personal private property is stored in private vehicles and prevents action against customers and employees who refuse to divulge that private information. Furthermore, it prohibits action against a customer or employee based on information provided by a third party.
Some Florida businesses are trying to ban firearms in cars in parking lots used by customers and employees. They are discriminating against people who exercise their constitutional rights – they are violating the constitutional rights of gun owners and Florida law.
Corporate giants have been trampling constitutional rights. Some are even attempting to coerce and intimidate gun owners into giving up their constitutional rights as a condition of employment.
Your Rights are in Danger!
Carrying firearms in a vehicle for hunting, target shooting or protection of yourself and your family obviously means you can leave that firearm locked in the vehicle in a parking lot when you go grocery shopping, to the doctor’s office, to a movie theater, to visit a sick friend in the hospital, to rent a movie, to the shoe store or anywhere else normal people travel to conduct business.
Florida law, the U.S. Constitution, and the Florida Constitution clearly and unequivocally give law- abiding citizens the right to have firearms in their vehicles for lawful purposes.
How can anyone justify telling a woman who is being stalked that she can’t have a firearm for protection? In many cases police tell these women to get a gun for protection because police can’t be there to protect them — and calling 911 is nothing more than government sponsored dial-a-prayer.
A business owner or manager has no more right to say you can’t have a firearm in your private vehicle than they have a right to say you can’t have a pair of sunglasses, an umbrella, a Bible or a baby seat.
Such an anti-gun political exercise is not good business sense. They want your money, but don’t respect your rights.
Businesses are not allowed to discriminate against employees and customers because of race, religion, political party, color of eyes, hair or weight. And they certainly can’t discriminate because of the exercise of lawful self-defense. And, make no mistake, these gun ban policies are blatant discrimination against people who chose to exercise a constitutional right and take responsibility for their own safety.