By Lee Williams
SAF Investigative Journalism Project
The City of Okeechobee, Florida adopted an illegal ordinance shortly before Hurricane Helene made landfall last week, which banned the sale of guns and ammunition and prohibited firearm possession in public by anyone other than law enforcement or members of the military.
Donald C. Hagan, the Chief of the Okeechobee Police Department, signed the illegal ordinance, copies of which quickly rebounded around the internet. Chief Hagan did not immediately return calls or emails seeking his comments for this story.
The City of Okeechobee has a population of 5,432 souls and sits on the north end of a large freshwater lake for which the town draws its name.
Florida Carry, Inc., sent a letter to the Okeechobee city council and Chief Hagan Saturday, warning the recipients they have violated Florida’s powerful preemption statute, which only allows the state legislature to regulate firearms. Any public official who violates the preemption statute can be removed from office and fined up to $5,000, which the statute requires them to pay personally.
The letter, which was written by Florida Carry, Inc. General Counsel Eric J. Friday, spells out that the pro-gun group has sufficient standing to bring a lawsuit if the ordinance is not repealed within 30 days.
“As a Florida registered non-profit membership organization representing the interests of defensive weapons and firearms owners who lawfully carry throughout the state, Florida Carry has the necessary standing to initiate legal action regarding this issue to ensure compliance with state law and the cessation of these violations of fundamental civil rights. Millions of Floridians lawfully carry defensive firearms and weapons every day to protect themselves and their families. We will see to it that they do not face a patchwork of regulations which are impossible for them to keep up with as they traverse our great state,” Friday wrote.
Friday also demanded the payment of $30,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees to “resolve this matter prior to initiation of litigation.”
The illegal ordinance, Friday pointed out, was apparently passed pursuant to an unrelated state statute, which allows the governor to suspend firearm and ammunition sales if “there is reason to believe that there exists a clear and present danger of a riot or other general public disorder, widespread disobedience of the law, and substantial injury to persons or to property, all of which constitute an imminent threat to public peace or order and to the general welfare of the jurisdiction affected or a part or parts thereof.”
“To my knowledge there were no violent acts, defiance of lawful authority, or any other of these required elements prior to the declaration of emergency to justify its passage,” he wrote. “The denial of a constitutional right cannot stand on conjecture.”
Similar acts
Banning arms and ammunition sales during a state of emergency is not completely unknown in Florida, but the offender is usually a newly hired manager of a big-box store who misread or conflated state statutes. For a city council and chief of police to infringe upon their residents’ civil rights is rare.
“It is clear from this ordinance that the sole purpose of invoking this section was to deny citizens the right to purchase and possess firearms and ammunition in direct contravention of state law and the constitutional rights of individuals wishing to purchase and possess firearms and ammunition for defense of themselves and the State,” Friday wrote.
Florida Carry, Inc. co-founder and executive director, Sean Caranna, pointed out that the city officials’ intent was suspect, regardless of how they misunderstood or misinterpreted state statutes.
“They should call this ordinance the ‘City of Okeechobee looter protection act,’” Caranna said.
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