by Conor Higgins | TGM Contributor
When the Florida legislature passed the preemption law on gun regulations in 2011, they essentially nullified any and all county and municipal regulations imposing stricter gun laws on citizens than those of the state itself. The move came after several counties, such as Broward and Palm Beach, imposed longer waiting periods for firearms than mandated by the state. In 2013, Broward and Palm Beach counties filed suit against the state, alleging a breach in sovereignty and control over the ability to battle violent crime in their jurisdictions. That particular suit was countered with one by the Second Amendment Foundation, that charged Broward County in particular with failing to bring their gun laws in line with those of the state.
Now in 2014, the efforts of Palm Beach and Broward counties to press for a greater degree of gun control within their borders has stalled; at least in terms of legislation. Earlier this month it was reported that Broward County will be launching a new program aimed at curbing gun violence in the form of voluntary gun control.
It is an interesting concept to say the least. With the liberal states, counties and gun control groups throughout the country clamoring for tighter gun control laws, Broward County has responded to the most recent gun control push the only way they are legally allowed to do. They cannot order or mandate FFL dealers to comply with any regulations, so they are left with politely asking them to surrender more information, and jump through more hoops than they are required under the law.
Broward County seeks to develop a program similar to a resolution adopted by the city of Weston, which resides in that county. The resolution is directly modeled a Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) program called “Responsible Firearms Retailer Partner- ship.” Under the ten points of the MAIG program firearms retailers, such as Wal-Mart who is already a participant, would focus on store security and preventing firearms from falling into the hands of criminals. This includes the videotaping of sales, a gun trace log and alert system, “deterring fake ID’s,” making sure employees who are selling the firearms have a clean record, checking inventory, a background check for every sale, and making sure firearms are secured. Retailers would sign a “10 Point Voluntary Code” with the above mentioned items on it, and then become active participants in the program.
If these particular measures sound familiar it is because firearms retailers already carry them out. A retailer will not give a firearm without a background check, a retailer will most certainly check for a fake ID, and a retailer will most certainly secure their firearms with trigger locks if they are on a display floor, if they allow them on the floor at all.
These measures are somewhat unnecessary, only seeking to add undue burdens on FFL dealers, as well as violating the rights of law abiding gunowners in the name of keeping up with the gun control crowd. Gun control advocates champion this measure as a means to bring down violent crime in Florida. However with one exception, violent crime in South Florida has gone down steadily every year since 1993. In fact with the exception of 2012, violent crime has fallen consistently nationwide since 1993.
Politically, this is a brilliant move by MAIG which has been picked up by more liberal governments in mostly red states such as in Bro- ward County, FL. If the counties can’t use the law to force firearms retailers to adhere to their regulations, then they can use societal pressure to compel compliance. State preemption ties their hand at the legislative level, but using this MAIG program will allow them to appear to the rest of the country as though they are doing something about the falling violent crime rate in Florida.
As the divide between pro-gun and anti-gun continues to grow into an abysmal cavern, look to see more local governments with liber- al leanings adopt similar measures around the country. Their success with Wal-Mart, the largest gun retailer in the country, will encourage anti-gun groups to pressure more large gun retailers to fall into line behind their behemoth competitor. With violent crime rates and firearms death rates falling in Florida and around the country, whether or not such measures were relevant, their existence will be cheered as a contributing factor.
