Florida Legislature Was Set to Consider Bill Allowing Guns in Airports Next Week

[DonViejo]

Source: Mediaite



by Alex Griswold | 2:15 pm, January 6th, 2017

In a sad but ironic twist of fate, the Friday mass shooting at the Fort Lauderdale -Hollywood International Airport comes one week before Florida legislators planned to debate a new bill allow the carrying of firearms in airports.

The Tallahassee Democrat reported Tuesday that Republican State Senator Greg Steube had introduced SB 140 to the state senate Judiciary Committee, to be considered sometime next week. The bill would repeal existing gun bans on college campuses, in airport terminals, and in government meetings.

“If you want to kill as many people as possible before the cops arrive then you are likely to go to a place where law-abiding citizens can’t carry,” argued Steube, the committee chairman. “That’s what we’ve seen, time and time again and why I think we shouldn’t have them.”

The bill is of course likely to attract even more controversy and attention in the wake of the shooting and as new information comes to light. You can follow Mediaite’s coverage of this breaking story here.

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Read more: http://www.mediaite.com/online/florida-legislature-was-set-to-consider-bill-allowing-guns-in-airports-next-week/

[onecaliberal]

1. It's an awesome idea, what could possibly go wrong?

[sakabatou]

3. My thinking too

[HoneyBadger]

12. Certainly no more than went wrong today

[onecaliberal]

24. Exactly!

[LanternWaste]

67. You inaccurately believe it could not have been worse?

You inaccurately believe it could not have been worse? What an adorable and creative imagination you use to better rationalize your narrative, regardless of a flawed premise.

[spin]

52. 44 states allow airport terminal carry. ...

[Hoyt]

2. The cowboy gunners and NRA will say they could have stopped today's shooting had they been

there with a couple of every day toters strapped to their bodies.

[HAB911]

5. Strange they never seem to where the action is

If everyone in the airport had just been armed..........how easy for the cops find the bad guys

TOO FUNNY

[Dustlawyer]

11. Can you imagine?

5 guys pull guns on the shooter and fire. 1 or 2 hit the shooter and the others hit 2-3 innocents. 10 people each see one of the 5 good guys and think they are bad guys and start shooting them. They return fire, at least the ones not shot. This keeps up until the cops arrive and shoot everyone!

Great idea!

Sarcasm

[spin]

55. I think you are vastly overestimating the number of people ...

who legally carry on a regular basis who would be in one location at one time.

A lot of people have a concealed carry permit but only carry when they are going into what they consider to be questionable areas or during the late evening hours. In many cases when a person wants to go to the store or just down the street he leaves his weapon behind in the safe rather than go through all the pain of putting on a holster.

What you are describing would be more likely in a cop bar.

[Dustlawyer]

59. Have you been to this airport? Do you know how many people go through there?

VOLUME!

[spin]

60. Any "gun-free" zone where lots of people congregate should have well armed...

and well trained security in today's world. For that matter so should similar areas where people can legally carry.

[spin]

53. It could be argued that is because the majority of such incidents occur in gun free ...

zones.

There are studies that support this theory and studies that don't. Politifact.com looked at the issue and this was their conclusion.

Dan Patrick says only two mass shootings since 1950 occurred outside of gun-free zones
By W. Gardner Selby on Wednesday, January 13th, 2016 at 9:58 a.m.

***snip****

Our ruling

Patrick said every "one of the mass shootings except two in America since 1950 have been" in "gun-free zones."

The Lott-steered research delivers a basis for this statement. But this all-but-two assessment also rests on how you define a mass shooting or gun-free zone. Change the definitions to take in more events and you end up with more shootings in places that weren’t otherwise free of guns.

On balance, we rate the claim Half True.
http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2016/jan/13/dan-patrick/dan-patrick-says-two-mass-shootings-1950-occurred-/

[tblue37]

54. Remember the open carry fool who got tagged as the cop shooter in Dallas?

He is lucky he didn't get himself shot. Also, by distracting and diverting police resources during the shootings, that idiot probably significantly impeded their response.

[ManiacJoe]

64. Most have 9-5 jobs.

Strange they never seem to where the action is...

[Grey Lemercier]

10. beat me to it plus 1

[christx30]

13. And how the average cowboy gunner is supposed to know who the

shooter is, and who is another armed good guy citizen is, they are never able to answer.
I guess when someone's a bad guy, a quest marker like a video game appears above their head to let everyone know they are the target, and not an innocent person. That's how it works, right?

[Hoyt]

18. They don't care. If they shoot an innocent bystander, they'll just claim they were afraid for

their life, an NRA lawyer will defend them, and George Zimmerman will drop by to offer encouragement.

[HoneyBadger]

27. If you had even been robbed, you would know who the bad guy was in that instance

Wouldn't you?

Of course if you are 500 feet away and not involved, you would not. But those are different situations.

[christx30]

31. And even in the situation where you are being robbed,

the robber can still fade into a good sized crowd, and it's easy to get confused if there are two people that look similar.

And with the 500 feet thing? Hell... I'd barely be able to tell what sex you are from 20 feet away. "I think it's a woman... or a man... Uhhh.."

Yeah, so at airports, keep the guns out of the hands of non-uniformed people. No one is going to be John McClaine and stop the bad guy. Leave that stuff to the cops to help. It'll cause less blood.

[putitinD]

51. in the old westerns, the good guys always wore white hats, and bad guys wore black hats.

[salin]

14. because a shoot out and cross fire

would have certainly been a better scenario.

Not saying it would have gone that way - but just as easily as the 'good guy with a gun' stopping the shooter before anyone was killed.

[fairwitness42]

46. Well, "cowboy gunners" obey the law and don't carry into 'gun free zones"

unlike criminals and terrorists who don't much care what the sign on the front door says.

[Hoyt]

49. If they don't carry, it's only because they are afraid of having their guns confiscated at detectors

[ManiacJoe]

61. Well, of course, by definition.

The Bad Guys will just shoot the guys manning the detectors.

[Hoyt]

65. Isn't "bad guys" trademarked by NRA?

[ManiacJoe]

66. Good one!

[elmac]

4. Hey, great timing

Well, you know what the fascists will say, those people wouldn't have been shot if armed citizens were there.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. if everyone carries

how do you sort out the bad guys?

Does legal carry give bad guys cover for their intended deeds?

[fairwitness42]

47. It's not rocket science. The bad guys are shooting at everyone,

the good guy is shooting at the bad guy. Why is this simple concept so difficult for gun haters?

[bucolic_frolic]

57. How do you figure out which is which on the spur of the moment?

[ManiacJoe]

62. You do not.

If you are there when the trouble starts, you know who the Bad Guys are.
If you are arriving after the trouble starts, you have the same problem as the police have when they arrive late to the action.
If you choose to stay in the area, you get to analyze the situation to see who is who.
The police get to take everyone down at gun point and put everyone in handcuffs and sort it all out at their leisure.

[Qutzupalotl]

7. Good thing they're not allowed.

Sorry, sometimes snark is the only way to deal with horrific irony.

[madville]

38. So it's currently illegal to bring a gun into an airport in Florida?

This actually proves that the current ban doesn't prevent mass shootings.

[fairwitness42]

48. The venue of every 'mass shooting' is a 'gun free zone'.

How many ways can we spell 'duh'?

[lark]

8. Is there any group of legislators (other than in KS) more stupid than those in FL?

Maybe TX is close, but still think FL takes the cake, especially under Voldemort's rule.

[underpants]

17. North Carolina is coming on strong

[lark]

20. Sadly, you have a point there.

[Javaman]

9. in other "news": alex jones complains of a conspiracy!!! nt

[salin]

16. "False Flag!" "Actors"!!!!!

OBAMA's Gonna take your guns!!!!

Just guessing that is what would be central to a AJ rant. Oh and lots of flying spittle, veins popping out at his temples, and a bright ruby red complexion.

[VWolf]

15. Of course they were.

Because ... Florida.

[keithbvadu2]

19. Yet gun shows won't allow loaded guns?

[George II]

21. Aren't airport terminals under Federal jurisdiction?

[bluevoter4life]

35. Nope. Local Jurisdiction. eom

[Baitball Blogger]

22. Greg Steube, you bonehead.

Outed by the fickle finger of fate.

[HopeAgain]

23. Welcome to my Hell

Florida resident here... Nothing good has happened here in State Government since Lawton Chiles.

[HAB911]

29. I'm with you.......n/t

[fairwitness42]

25. I can't help wondering

how many of the people around that luggage carousel were thinking, as they watched their fellow passengers being murdered, "Well, thank God there are no good guys with guns in this place".

[bluedigger]

26. Should fly through now.

How else are people going to defend themselves?

[fairwitness42]

28. It's a puzzle

If someone can craft a law that will actually ensure that guns won't get into the hands of criminals and terrorists, I'll support it but I have no idea what sort of language will magically persuade such people to suddenly start obeying the law.

[bluedigger]

30. I have a problem relying on the intelligence and goodwill of the average American

to use and secure his firearms prudently. The average American criminal isn't getting his arms by forging them over charcoal fires from shovels in the hills, contrary to popular mythology, but taking them from dumb law abiding ones.

[progressoid]

32. It's a puzzle?

Certainly passing no laws will ensure that guns won't get into the hands of criminals and terrorists as well.

[fairwitness42]

36. More laws won't make any difference

if they aren't enforced any better than the thousands we have now. No demographic is more committed to making guns harder to obtain and keep than criminals who would like nothing better than to be the only armed people.

[Skittles]

44. repuke logic

[fairwitness42]

45. No, it is sensible logic.

If more Democrats could grasp that, we would not have lost so badly 2 months ago.

[Crunchy Frog]

39. Best not pass any laws at all.

Everyone knows criminals won't follow them anyway.

As far as airports go? Everyone knows there are no trained professional, armed security personnel there, so yeah, let's allow and encourage good guys with guns to counter the bad guys with guns.

[fairwitness42]

41. Should I infer from your post that if

we both were in some gun free zone -like this one- where a nutcase was randomly shooting people, and I had a concealed gun
(and knew how to operate it), you would prefer that I leave it concealed so the shooter could kill us both? Do I have that right?

[Crunchy Frog]

42. Because airports are gun free zones, right?

They don't employ trained security people on site to handle those sorts of situations do they?

They would much prefer that a hero like yourself handle it. And there's no way they could mistake you for the nutcase and take you out. Right?

[fairwitness42]

43. As far as I remember every one of the 'mass shootings' has been in a 'gun free zone'.

You didn't answer my question.

But I will answer yours... I sure would rather take a chance on neutralizing the murderer than sit back and wait for him to
kill me and others.

Your mileage obviously varies. A lot.

[ManiacJoe]

50. It would seem that the Florida airports are gun-free.

That is certainly not the norm in the USA.

[0rganism]

33. cos nothing says "safety" like a shootout at the baggage claim

[Turbineguy]

34. Of course you have to make sure first

that criminals and lunatics have easy access to guns.

And they already did that part.

[crazycatlady]

37. That would be real good for their tourism industry

I can just imagine a family with young children flying to Disney World, land in Orlando and they witness a mass shooting.

[Crunchy Frog]

40. Have at it. I'm all in favor of allowing Florida to serve as a Petri dish for brilliant ideas.

It could make up for the severe lack of professional, armed security personnel in airports these days.

[spin]

56. Florida is one of just six states that doesn't not allow airport terminal carry. ...

[ManiacJoe]

63. Wow. I did not realize it was as high as six.

[2naSalit]

58. Gosh, what could possibly go wrong?

Oh wait...