With a sparsely-worded amendment filed late Tuesday, the spring legislative session in Tallahassee has finally reached peak Florida-ness:
In title, delete lines
2 - 3 and insert:
An act relating to the zombie apocalypse; amending s.
790.01, F.S.; providing
Finally, the undead amendment we always wanted! And yes, we're getting it framed, too.
But while hilarious, the seven words proposed by state Senator Dwight Bullard (D-Cutler Bay) have been filed to make a point regarding a decidedly more serious bill.
Senate Bill 296, which Bullard proposes to amend, would allow Florida gun owners without the proper permits to carry concealed weapons during a state of emergency, an idea supported by the National Rifle Association but vehemently opposed by the Florida Sheriff's Association and other critics who say the language is dangerously vague.
Bullard's amendment would replace the bill's title language -- "An act relating to carrying a concealed weapon or a concealed firearm" -- to reframe it with the flesh-ripping end times scenario he says is the situation best suited for such a gun-toting free-for-all.
"For me, as laughable as the amendment might seem, it's equally laughable that people who haven't gone through the proper training, the background check, the license to carry -- we're saying because of a hurricane or flooding or sinkhole, these individuals have gone from gun owners to concealed carry permit holders," Bullard told The Huffington Post. "I'd argue a crisis is probably the last instance in which you want someone who is not a concealed permit holder to carry a weapon."
Florida law already permits non-permit holders to legally transport weapons secured in a glove box or trunk or the like. But state Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg), who sponsored the bill, told HuffPost last month those under a mandatory evacuation order "have enough to worry about without having to cross-check themselves to be certain they’re in technical compliance with concealed weapon transport laws."
The bill is scheduled to be heard Wednesday, according to an NRA email. A twin version passed the Florida House earlier this month.
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