Florida has some of the most radically right gun laws in the nation. It might be flanked by other states like Alaska, but, not any other state with the population density of Florida.
George Zimmerman was supposedly Concealed Carry.
Florida laws allow weapons basically anywhere.
License to Carry Concealed Weapon or Firearm (click here)
This is Florida's population growth. There are remote areas of Florida, such as the Keys, where folks want to have a gun for their own protection because of the drug economy. But, of the populous of Florida many are older Americans. When dealing with 'surviving' a gun confrontation, it is the reaction time of the shooters that determines the outcome. That and accuracy. Both favor younger gun carriers. Sorry, eyesight and hearing, etc.; it is just a fact.
The difference between California and Texas as a point of comparison is obvious. One is strongly Blue and the other Red. But, they only share one thing. California is ranked third in the nation in square miles. Texas is ranked second in square miles. First is Alaska, but, Florida is 22nd in the nation in square miles. Why is that important, because of POPULATION DENSITY.
The average population density in the USA is 88 persons per square mile. Alaska is ranked last with 1.24 persons per square mile. Most of the time SERVICES provided to citizens of cities and towns depend on the income of the city or town. So, the less the population density the less the income to state and local treasuries and the less services provided to citizens. Therefore, states like Alaska will find more citizens with guns in order to provide for their safety.
Texas is 26th in the USA of population density, 98.07 persons per square mile, however, it has a long border with Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico which places folks in those areas with similar problems as the Keys in Florida. It is understandable why folks in those areas of Texas prefer to carry weapons.
California is ranked tenth in the nation of population density at 282.5 persons per square mile. We all know the folks in California are not big fans of guns. The breaking point for gun regulation is somewhere about 13th in the nation, that is Hawaii. It is a breaking point because the more dense the population per square mile the more likely people will suffer gun violence JUST BY THE SHEER ODDS of having a gun nearby. Not even in their possession, not within their family or friends or place of employment, but, simply in the area of where they conduct their lives. The more public, education and employment venues where guns exist the more chance of being a victim to gun violence.
This is where it gets interesting. The first state to pass stringent guns laws after the Sandy Hook tragedy was New York State. It is ranked 7th in the nation in population density with 415.3 persons per square mile. That was followed by Connecticut where the tragedy took place. It is ranked fourth in the nation with 741.4 persons per square mile.
The most densely populated state in the nation is New Jersey with 1205 persons per square mile. New Jersey only permits shotguns when hunting because the shotguns don't deliver long range bullets. Their range is shorter than rifles. In other words the CHANCES of a bullet passing through a game animal and continuing it's journey through velocity alone and hitting whatever is behind that game animal is high. Therefore, it is better to have a slug of soft lead or a shell with bird shot to spray a target with multiple wounds and allow the velocity to end with the target. It is a safer method in a densely populated state.
So, California is ten and the break point is probably Hawaii at thirteenth.
Florida is an outlier to any statistical understanding of why the gun laws are lenient. Florida is eighth in population density in the USA with 360.2 persons per square mile. Florida laws used to be that anyone could OPEN carry a weapon simply because of the difference in geography and it's long coastline and the chance of running into bad guys by boat or pick-up truck in the Florida swamps.
790.053 Open carrying of weapons.— (click here)
People know instinctively when death is wrong. The reason Mr. Martin's death is so very wrong without justice carrying weight with it, is due to the fact a young man, black or otherwise, minding his own business, growing up and walking home accosted by a stranger carrying a gun is simply unthinkable. It is every parent's nightmare.
His death is egregious and cruel. Sanford, Florida does not have problems that SOME areas of Florida have. Mr. Martin was in a city with many people a stone's throw from him at any point in his walk home. They heard him. They saw him on video cameras and heard him of a cell phone. He was within reasonable safety by any stretch of the imagination by being seen or heard. Yelling "Help!" mattered. That is the difference between the point where people believe their gun laws are too loose or not. It is about the 'best opportunity' of survival.
The population of the USA is growing. As it grows these gun laws will become obsolete to citizen safety one state after another state. It is just the way it is. People don't want to die and they will go through great trouble to pay taxes and build safety around them through organization such as government structures.
Florida's loose gun laws may be necessary in remote areas of the state, but, it is not necessary in Sanford or other populated areas. It simply doesn't matter.
The gun lobby knows states are becoming more densely populated and with that comes more money into state and local treasuries with citizens demanding safety infrastructure. Personal gun ownership will abate with greater measures of safety and increases in gun violence and tragedy. The politics of the USA has to change to reflect that growing population because if it doesn't the NRA will seize the opportunity of the increased gun violence as a measure to increase the sales into neighborhoods. That is exactly what is occurring and it fits nicely into the extremist Right Wing politics with a populous culture that completely disregards the Public Trust and solid Public Policy.
Florida changing it's gun laws under a Republican Governor was easy after 2010. It was a profound victory for the NRA and gun lobby. They were breaking into ground where the instincts of people were overridden by their profit motives. The Democrats need to pay attention.
George Zimmerman was supposedly Concealed Carry.
Florida laws allow weapons basically anywhere.
License to Carry Concealed Weapon or Firearm (click here)
- Any place of nuisance as defined in s. 823.05
- any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station;
- any detention facility, prison, or jail;
- any courthouse; any courtroom, except that nothing in this section would preclude a judge from
carrying a concealed weapon or determining who will carry a concealed weapon in his or her
courtroom;
- any polling place;
- any meeting of the governing body of a
county, public school district, municipality, or special
district;
- any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof;
- any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms;
- any school administration building;
- any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion of the establishment is primarily devoted to such purpose;
- any elementary or secondary school facility;
- any area vocational
- technical center
- any college or university facility unless the licensee is a registered student, employee, or faculty member of such college or university and the weapon is a stun gun or non
- lethal electric weapon or device designed solely for defensive purposes and the weapon
does not fire a dart or projectile;
- inside the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport, provided that no person shall be
prohibited from carrying any legal firearm into the terminal, which firearm is encased for shipment for purposes of checking such firearm as baggage to be lawfully transported on any aircraft; or
- any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law
This is Florida's population growth. There are remote areas of Florida, such as the Keys, where folks want to have a gun for their own protection because of the drug economy. But, of the populous of Florida many are older Americans. When dealing with 'surviving' a gun confrontation, it is the reaction time of the shooters that determines the outcome. That and accuracy. Both favor younger gun carriers. Sorry, eyesight and hearing, etc.; it is just a fact.
The difference between California and Texas as a point of comparison is obvious. One is strongly Blue and the other Red. But, they only share one thing. California is ranked third in the nation in square miles. Texas is ranked second in square miles. First is Alaska, but, Florida is 22nd in the nation in square miles. Why is that important, because of POPULATION DENSITY.
The average population density in the USA is 88 persons per square mile. Alaska is ranked last with 1.24 persons per square mile. Most of the time SERVICES provided to citizens of cities and towns depend on the income of the city or town. So, the less the population density the less the income to state and local treasuries and the less services provided to citizens. Therefore, states like Alaska will find more citizens with guns in order to provide for their safety.
Texas is 26th in the USA of population density, 98.07 persons per square mile, however, it has a long border with Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico which places folks in those areas with similar problems as the Keys in Florida. It is understandable why folks in those areas of Texas prefer to carry weapons.
California is ranked tenth in the nation of population density at 282.5 persons per square mile. We all know the folks in California are not big fans of guns. The breaking point for gun regulation is somewhere about 13th in the nation, that is Hawaii. It is a breaking point because the more dense the population per square mile the more likely people will suffer gun violence JUST BY THE SHEER ODDS of having a gun nearby. Not even in their possession, not within their family or friends or place of employment, but, simply in the area of where they conduct their lives. The more public, education and employment venues where guns exist the more chance of being a victim to gun violence.
This is where it gets interesting. The first state to pass stringent guns laws after the Sandy Hook tragedy was New York State. It is ranked 7th in the nation in population density with 415.3 persons per square mile. That was followed by Connecticut where the tragedy took place. It is ranked fourth in the nation with 741.4 persons per square mile.
The most densely populated state in the nation is New Jersey with 1205 persons per square mile. New Jersey only permits shotguns when hunting because the shotguns don't deliver long range bullets. Their range is shorter than rifles. In other words the CHANCES of a bullet passing through a game animal and continuing it's journey through velocity alone and hitting whatever is behind that game animal is high. Therefore, it is better to have a slug of soft lead or a shell with bird shot to spray a target with multiple wounds and allow the velocity to end with the target. It is a safer method in a densely populated state.
So, California is ten and the break point is probably Hawaii at thirteenth.
Florida is an outlier to any statistical understanding of why the gun laws are lenient. Florida is eighth in population density in the USA with 360.2 persons per square mile. Florida laws used to be that anyone could OPEN carry a weapon simply because of the difference in geography and it's long coastline and the chance of running into bad guys by boat or pick-up truck in the Florida swamps.
790.053 Open carrying of weapons.— (click here)
(1) Except
as otherwise provided by law and in subsection (2), it is unlawful for
any person to openly carry on or about his or her person any firearm or
electric weapon or device. It is not a violation of this section for a
person licensed to carry a concealed firearm as provided in s. 790.06(1),
and who is lawfully carrying a firearm in a concealed manner, to
briefly and openly display the firearm to the ordinary sight of another
person, unless the firearm is intentionally displayed in an angry or
threatening manner, not in necessary self-defense.
(2) A person may openly carry, for purposes of lawful self-defense:...People know instinctively when death is wrong. The reason Mr. Martin's death is so very wrong without justice carrying weight with it, is due to the fact a young man, black or otherwise, minding his own business, growing up and walking home accosted by a stranger carrying a gun is simply unthinkable. It is every parent's nightmare.
His death is egregious and cruel. Sanford, Florida does not have problems that SOME areas of Florida have. Mr. Martin was in a city with many people a stone's throw from him at any point in his walk home. They heard him. They saw him on video cameras and heard him of a cell phone. He was within reasonable safety by any stretch of the imagination by being seen or heard. Yelling "Help!" mattered. That is the difference between the point where people believe their gun laws are too loose or not. It is about the 'best opportunity' of survival.
The population of the USA is growing. As it grows these gun laws will become obsolete to citizen safety one state after another state. It is just the way it is. People don't want to die and they will go through great trouble to pay taxes and build safety around them through organization such as government structures.
Florida's loose gun laws may be necessary in remote areas of the state, but, it is not necessary in Sanford or other populated areas. It simply doesn't matter.
The gun lobby knows states are becoming more densely populated and with that comes more money into state and local treasuries with citizens demanding safety infrastructure. Personal gun ownership will abate with greater measures of safety and increases in gun violence and tragedy. The politics of the USA has to change to reflect that growing population because if it doesn't the NRA will seize the opportunity of the increased gun violence as a measure to increase the sales into neighborhoods. That is exactly what is occurring and it fits nicely into the extremist Right Wing politics with a populous culture that completely disregards the Public Trust and solid Public Policy.
Florida changing it's gun laws under a Republican Governor was easy after 2010. It was a profound victory for the NRA and gun lobby. They were breaking into ground where the instincts of people were overridden by their profit motives. The Democrats need to pay attention.
