Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Florida Concealed Carry Permits


George Zimmerman is part of a large and growing class in Florida: He holds a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Or he did until last week, when he was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford.

A gun permit in Florida is suspended when the holder is charged with a felony. If Zimmerman is acquitted, he'll get his gun permit back.

Through March, 919,831 people held permits to carry a concealed weapon in Florida, or roughly one of every 15 adults in the state. (More than 106,000 permit holders live in other states.)

Four out of five are men. Most are over age 50.
That's a lot of guns. And the best part is how the pro-gun folks decribe it.

Rep. Dennis Baxley, the Ocala Republican famous as the House sponsor of the 2005 "stand your ground" law, vigorously supports concealed weapons and says the overwhelming majority of permit holders are careful, law-abiding citizens.

In a free society, people should have the right to arm themselves, Baxley says.

"These permit holders don't shoot people," Baxley says.

Is that some of the best narrow-minded biased nonsense you've ever heard? Is Baxley using hyperbole when he actually means not enough of them shoot people to worry about? Or is he really so far under the ether that he believes that stuff?

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

12 comments:

  1. "Is that some of the best narrow-minded biased nonsense you've ever heard? Is Baxley using hyperbole when he actually means not enough of them shoot people to worry about? Or is he really so far under the ether that he believes that stuff?"

    Statistically, if you are a member of MAIG, you are 100's of times more likely to become a felon than if you are a CCW license holder.

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  2. To what nonsense do you refer? The statement is accurate for the vast majority of us, and the few who do shoot mostly are justified in their actions--please, do divide a couple hundred by a million and tell us if Baxter sounds accurate.

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    1. You are one shot in your pants from the gun in your waistband away from being George Zimmerman, killing an unarmed innocent person.

      You think the same wrong way he did on those 911 recordings.

      That makes you dangerous, not safe, and of course, delusional - and incapable of cogent critical thinking.

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    2. Dang, it's been so long since you accused me of being unable to think correctly. By the way, on what grounds other than your biases can you claim that Martin was innocent? You were on the scene at the time, I take it?

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    3. The nonsense to which I referred is this sweeping and exaggerated statement.

      ""These permit holders don't shoot people," Baxley says."

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  3. One of the Florida newspapers a few years ago noted that the state of Florida had given permits to a few thousand people who were felons and / or had current warrants out for their arrest for felonies.

    It's not like Florida has a good track record for their permit process.

    But it sure does support the Armed while old, white, flabby and crabby observation. These are all guys - including the gun nuts here - who have a fantasy of themselves as gun toting heroes, when in fact they are a bunch of silly old dyspepetic scared, old, mostly badly out of shape dangers to everyone around them.

    What has happened with George Zimmerman killing an unarmed man minding his own business is a perfect example of the kind of mistake the gun nuts here brag up all the time about better to be safe and alive than sorry.

    Let Zimmerman be an example of just how sorry that really gets.

    The number of homicides has gone up dramatically in every state where shoot first laws have passed; in all of those states, carry laws have been made more lenient. That is all the proof one needs that these laws are deadly, and result in more injuries as well.

    For a couple of years now, there has been an accompanying increase in the number of law enforcement officers killed by shooting, exceeding the number that die from car accidents.

    This nation needs fewer armed individuals, especially those scared wobbly old guys who are eager to shoot at anything right or wrong.

    The majority of the old white flabby and crabby guys with guns are NOT careful - they're just like George Zimmerman to some degree. A killing waiting to happen because they are living in their gun fantasy, not reality.

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    1. Dog Gone, you really need to calm down. Consider the following:

      1. If you substituted black for white everywhere in your comment, you'd be accused of racism. Apparently, racism only applies when the comments are made against a favored group.

      2. Even if the Florida newspaper is correct, that's an error rate of about one tenth of one percent. Show me other people or organizations that have that good a score.

      3. You said that homicides are up, but you neglected to add "justifiable" before homicide. Have you analyzed every one of those deaths? How do you know that they aren't genuine cases of self defense? Of course, you've stated that we have no right to self defenese before.

      4. It's interesting that you know what happened between Zimmerman and Martin. I have a conjecture, but you claim certainty. If you were capable of critical thinking, you'd recognize that your assessment of the event is also a conjecture.

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  4. Dog Gone,

    Bravo. Great to hear some sanity around here.

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    1. What I conclude from reading this blog and others is that finding common ground is impossible. We don't even speak the same language as you. WhyNot praises Dog Gone for bringing sanity, but when I read her comment, all I saw was a biased and hate-filled rant. What hope is there for a democracy in which opposing sides can't even communicate?

      This does confirm my position that we must preserve a strong belief in individual rights. That way, we don't have to agree. The only point of agreement necessary is one that says that I won't interfere in your life if you'll not interfere in mine. Nothing else is possible.

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    2. In other words, you must move even further into your own intransigence.

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    3. And you're any different how?

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