January 10, 2023 : Renzo Downey – FLORIDA POLITICS
Florida could be the first state to protect gun sale data with the Arms and Ammo Act.
Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson is unveiling his first legislative proposal since taking office, a first-in-the-nation measure to prevent businesses from tracking Floridians’ firearm and ammo purchases.
Simpson, the former Senate President who was sworn in as Agriculture Commissioner last week, announced his proposal for the “Florida Arms and Ammo Act” Tuesday.
The measure comes in response to new international standards for recording payment transactions last year that established a separate identification code for firearm and ammunition sales. With the new merchant category code, it is potentially easier to track people who have purchased guns or ammo.
“We are all blessed to live in the free state of Florida where our Second Amendment rights are valued and protected, but Democrats in Washington continue to try to chip away at these rights — and we must stay vigilant,” Simpson said.
“The ‘Florida Arms and Ammo Act’ draws a line in the sand and tells multi-national progressive financial institutions, and their allies in Washington, that they cannot covertly create a backdoor firearm registry of Floridians — or else.”
Commissioner Nikki Fried Calls on Legislature to Add Gun Violence Prevention Reform to Special Session Agenda
It should be kept in mind that this woman is running to be governor of the state of Florida.
May 24, 2022
Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried released the following statement on the news of another mass shooting in Texas today:
“I am completely heartbroken and sickened by the news of another horrific mass shooting today in Texas. While our country is still reeling from the racially motivated murders in Buffalo just ten days ago, this is yet another devastating tragedy that took the lives of innocent elementary school students. In Florida, we know all too well the pain and trauma that senseless mass shootings cause in our lives and our communities, and our hearts go out to the victims and everyone who has been hurt by gun violence.
“I want to be completely clear: offering ‘thoughts and prayers’ is not enough. It’s past time for us to take serious and meaningful action to prevent gun violence. The Legislature must add gun violence prevention reform to the current Special Session agenda. There cannot be any more children massacred or lives destroyed by mass shootings while our government sits idly by.”
DEKALB COUNTY, Indiana – A group of four armed intruders broke into an Indiana home recently, but only two left alive, state police told news outlets.
It happened early Sunday, May 15, at a home in DeKalb County, officials told WXIN.
The suspects forced their way inside but were soon confronted by the homeowner, who was also armed, the TV station reported.
The resident fired at the burglars, killing two of them, police told WTHR. The homeowner held the remaining two at gunpoint until officers arrived and arrested them.
No charges have been brought against the homeowner, WPTA reported.
The surviving suspects were taken into custody on charges of burglary and murder, according to the outlet. Murder charges can be brought against the suspects because they reportedly were committing a felony that led to two deaths, the station said.
The 2nd Amendment Foundation by Lee Williams – May 9, 2022
In the years before the Biden-Harris administration took over the White House, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives usually revoked an average of 40 Federal Firearm Licenses (FFLs) per year. But, in the 11 months since Joe Biden declared war on “rogue gun dealers,” the ATF has revoked 273 FFLs – an increase of more than 500%. However, rather than targeting the true rogues, Biden’s ATF is revoking FFLs for the most minor of paperwork errors, which were never a concern for the ATF until Biden weaponized the agency.
“This has nothing to do with the ATF and everything to do with the DOJ,” said John Clark of FFL Consultants. Clark is a firearm industry expert who said the ATF announced the number of revocations at a recent Firearm Industry Conference.
“The vast majority of the ATF don’t like this any more than the industry does,” he said. “It’s Biden.”
Clark and business partner John Bocker crisscross the country to help gun dealers fight back against Biden’s overreach – a service that is free to all members of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Their mantra is: “Get it right the first time.”
“Our goal is to prevent an incident from occurring,” Bocker has said. “Our goal is prevention – get it right the first time. We are the proactive and preventative arm of the NSSF.”
Nowadays, they’re extremely busy. “I had three revocation hearings last week,” Clark said.
Key to the massive increase in revocations is Biden’s zero-tolerance for willful violations policy, which Clark said relies upon a new definition of willful. If a dealer makes a simple mistake, they can now lose their license, because the new definition of willful states that the dealer knew the law, but willfully chose to violate it anyway – regardless of whether it was an oversight, an error by an employee or a simple paperwork mistake.
“They have twisted negligence into willful,” Clark said. “These are not uncommon errors that we’re seeing. Things happen.”
On paper, Biden’s new policy seems clear:
Absent extraordinary circumstances that would need to be justified to the Director, ATF will seek to revoke the licenses of dealers the first time that they violate federal law by willfully.
1.) transferring a firearm to a prohibited person 2.) failing to run a required background check 3.) falsifying records, such as a firearms transaction form 4.) failing to respond to an ATF tracing request 5.) refusing to permit ATF to conduct an inspection in violation of the law
However, Clark and Bocker are seeing these rules pushed far beyond the realm of common sense or fairness, and local gun dealers are paying the price.
For example, the transaction number for a NICS background check requires nine digits. If a gun dealer mistakenly omits a number, their license can be revoked for failing to run a background check. Under the Biden-Harris administration, there is no longer any room for human error.
Similarly, the ATF has started contracting out its trace requests, Clark said. He and Bocker have talked to a dealer whom the ATF accused of not complying with a trace request. They fault, they found, actually belonged to the ATF, which hadn’t updated its records from the contractors. Until this was clarified, the dealer was at risk of losing everything.
Their firm offers a free webinar for gun dealers, which addresses Biden’s policy.
ATF breaking federal law
Biden first announced his zero-tolerance policy for “rogue gun dealers” in June of last year. He claimed these dealers were responsible for skyrocketing violent crime rates in major cities historically controlled by Democrats.
The violence wasn’t caused by weak prosecutors who refuse to hold criminals accountable, or gangs or underfunded police departments or by any combination thereof, he said. It was all the fault of “rogue gun dealers,” who Biden claimed willfully transfer firearms to prohibited persons, and/or refuse to cooperate with a tracing request from the ATF.
To vet Biden’s rogue gun dealer theory, the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project immediately sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the ATF, seeking the following:
Copies of documents that show the number of Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) and their state of residence, who have been prosecuted for willfully transferring a firearm to a prohibited person over the past three years (from June 23, 2018 to June 23, 2021.)
We’re still waiting for a response.
In the 11 months since the FOIA request was filed, the ATF has not complied with the law. The ATF is in a trick-bag of sorts. They can comply with federal law and provide the documents, which will likely reveal that Biden’s rogue gun dealer policy is just a ruse, or they can continue to deny and delay the FOIA request even though their actions violate federal law.
Takeaways
If there is a dealer who transfers firearms to prohibited persons, fails to conduct background checks and ignores requests from the ATF to help trace firearms used in a crime, they should lose their FFL. I don’t know anyone who disagrees with that. However, these are not the type of dealers the ATF is targeting at Biden’s behest. The Biden-Harris administration has ordered the ATF to revoke FFLs for even the most minor of paperwork errors, solely to support its rogue-dealer myth.
There is no doubt Biden will soon hold a press conference touting the effectiveness of his zero-tolerance policy and the hundreds of “rogue gun dealers” whose licenses were revoked as a result. What he won’t mention is that none of the dealers who lost their livelihoods contributed to the skyrocketing violent crime rates of major metros. They were simply law-abiding men and women who made a minor paperwork error, which Biden has now criminalized as part of his ongoing war on our guns.
Of course you’ve seen the incident widely reported in the news, right? Then again, maybe not.
The suspect fired over 200 rounds in a school zone, threatening students, had 3 fully automatic rifles, four inocent victims wounded and crickets from the news media. It is almost as if it never happen.
The question begs:
Where did the 23-year-old get 3 fully automatic rifles?
What was his motive?
What is his nationality?
Where did he get the money to rent 2 apartments?
The suspect, Raymond Spencer, 23, is alleged to have had 800 more unspent rounds and three more firearms, including two handguns, at his apartment in the city’s Van Ness neighborhood, Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said at a public safety briefing.
Suspect in D.C. shooting had 1,000 rounds, 3 fully automatic rifles April 25, 2022 – By Tim Stelloh
A suspected gunman who injured four people when he “indiscriminately” opened fire from a fifth-floor apartment in Washington, D.C., last week had three fully automatic rifles and shot more than 200 rounds of ammunition, authorities said Monday.
Spencer is alleged to have set up a hallway camera to monitor people approaching the unit, Contee said, adding that an appliance was wedged against the home’s front door to slow anyone trying to enter.
Police had to ram the apartment’s front door to open it, Contee said.
At a second apartment in Northern Virginia, police discovered parts for three more rifles that also belonged to Spencer, Contee said.
Authorities believe Spencer, who had been identified as a person of interest in the case, died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound as officers were entering his apartment Friday, Contee said.
Authorities previously said Spencer used a tripod and a “sniper-type set up” to open fire.
“I’m thankful we didn’t lose more lives that day,” Contee told reporters.
A 12-year-old girl was shot in the arm, and a woman in her mid-30s and a 54-year-old man were also hit, police said. A woman in her mid-60s with a graze wound to her upper back was treated at the scene and released.
Contee said investigators were trying to determine a motive. It wasn’t clear whether the shooting was connected to a nearby prep school, Edmund Burke, that was placed on lockdown during the shooting.
Security video captured Spencer rolling a suitcase into the Washington apartment the night before the shooting, Contee said. A few hours before he is alleged to have opened fire, Spencer went to a grocery store and bought two meals, he added.
Contee said Spencer was a former lifeguard who attended high school in suburban Maryland. He was in the Coast Guard for a few months in 2017, Contee said.
It wasn’t immediately clear why Spencer was discharged. The Coast Guard didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Contee also said it also wasn’t clear how he was able to rent two apartments or buy guns and ammunition.
“There are a lot of things we need to know that we don’t know,” he said.
Two victims who suffered gunshot wounds remained in critical condition Monday, NBC Washington reported.
Fifty-nine of the state’s sheriffs — all but eight of them — are endorsing Senate President Wilton Simpson’s campaign for Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the campaign announced Monday.
The Florida Police Benevolent Association has also endorsed Simpson’s campaign, according to a news release from the Simpson campaign.
Simpson is running to succeed Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who is leaving the position aiming to become Florida’s next Governor.
The campaign attributed the sheriffs’ united front for Simpson’s campaign to his support for law enforcement.
“As others have tried to defund the police, I fought to ensure Floridians in uniform have the support and resources they need to do their jobs,” Simpson said, according to a news release.
The news release highlighted endorsements of sheriffs from Pasco and Polk counties.
“The women and men in law enforcement start each shift with a mission: to work side by side with members of their community to keep it safe and to make it home to their families,” Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said. “Wilton Simpson has firmly stood with law enforcement in this mission and understands that protecting our communities and our future will allow Florida to continue to prosper.”
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd credited Simpson’s leadership with bringing Florida’s crime rate to a 50-year low.
“Wilton is a PROVEN LEADER who cares about your safety and wellbeing,” Judd’s written comments read. “He has always supported law enforcement and that is exactly why I support Wilton.”
Simpson, a Trilby Republican, is the heavy favorite to win his party’s nomination for the post and face Democratic candidate Ryan Morales, a Clermont cannabis activist. Simpson has millions on hand for his campaign, compared to Morales and Republican candidates Richard Ollie Jr. and James Shaw, who have done negligible fundraising.
The majority of sheriffs not endorsing Simpson come largely from counties that are larger and traditionally more Democratic counties. Sheriffs from Alachua, Broward, Leon, Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach and St. Lucie were not on the list of endorsers.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) is calling for federal officials to help her curb gun violence in the city and target its root causes.
In a speech on Monday, Lightfoot urged U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to utilize agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to address illegal firearms and for more prosecutors to bring criminal cases, according to The Chicago Tribune.
“Keeping you safe is my priority — not one of, but the first and primary priority,” Lightfoot said to the citizens of Chicago. “I wake every morning with this as my first concern and I push myself and all involved to step up and do more and better because we cannot continue to endure the level of violence that we are now experiencing.”
The mayor also requested that judges in Cook County stop releasing people charged with violent crimes including murder, aggravated gun possession, sex crimes, illegal gun possession and kidnapping on electric monitoring, the Tribune noted.
The solutions proposed by Lightfoot, none of which are new strategies, were reportedly criticized as “regressive” and “clearly unconstitutional.”
Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell told the Tribune the mayor “diagnosed the very real root causes of violence, the solutions were textbook policymaking based on fear.”
“The mayor’s regressive proposal calls for the pretrial detention of thousands of people who haven’t been convicted of anything and the plan could only be achieved by exploding the population of Cook County Jail in the middle of a pandemic,” Mitchell said.
Lightfoot’s speech comes as Chicago police data indicated that 3,411 shootings occurred in 2021 as of earlier this month, a 9 percent increase from last year.
DAVENPORT, Fla. (AP) — Authorities said Sunday a third victim has died following a violent attack where an angry electrician wielding a knife and baseball bat killed three co-workers and injured another at the Florida home they shared.
Polk County Sheriff’s officials said electrician Shaun Runyon got into the argument with his supervisor Friday, punching the man and fleeing the job site. He returned to the Davenport home he where he was temporarily living with his co-workers Saturday and beat one man to death while he slept, killed another man on the front porch and chased another victim into the street, beating him badly with a bat, Sheriff Grady Judd said.
A fourth victim suffered critical injuries and later died at the hospital. Another man, his wife and their 7-year-old daughter escaped unharmed. Authorities did not release the identities of the victims.
Runyon and seven co-workers and their families were living at the home rented by a Pennsylvania company, J & B Electric, Inc.
It’s unclear what prompted the fight between 39-year-old Runyon and his supervisor Friday, but Sheriff Judd said he confessed.
He was charged with three counts of first degree murder and one count of aggravated battery. It was not immediately clear if he had retained a lawyer to comment on the charges.
Runyon fled the home, turning up hours later at the home of a random Lake Wales couple, wearing bloody clothes and telling them he’d been raped, according to the sheriff.
Judd said the man discarded his bloody clothes at the home as they urged him to go to the hospital where he was later taken into custody.
Chicago has begun installing “Bleeding Control Kits” across the city under the new Safe Chicago program amid an increase in gun violence.
The city will install 426 Bleeding Control Kits in 269 Chicago buildings, including City Hall and Chicago Public Library locations. Each kit can treat up to eight victims.
Every kit comes equipped with a tourniquet, gauze, shears, gloves, and an instruction manual on how to best use it in instances of “life threatening bleeding emergencies” that can result from falls, penetrating injuries (such as stabbings), gunshot wounds, and more.
Announced earlier this month to coincide with National Preparedness Month, the program was launched by the Office of Emergency Management and Communications and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in partnership with the Chicago Fire Department, Chicago Police Department, and Assets and Information Services.
However, it has received renewed attention addressing gun violence following the release Monday’s updated crime stats from the Chicago Police Department.
As of Monday, Chicago has reported 2,688 shootings, an 11 percent increase from this time last year, as well as 602 homicides, marking a 4 percent increase. The data does not specify the homicide causes of death.
