Why Appeasement Never Works

Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) probably thought rushing to get a gun control bill passed after the Parkland atrocity would appease those calling for more gun control and help him in his run for the US Senate against Bill Nelson.

As Winston Churchill probably told Neville Chamberlain many times, appeasement never works.

I got the following email from the cult of personality known as Giffords. They are asking for money so that they can defeat Scott in his run against Bill Nelson.

In just a moment, I am going to ask you to rush an urgent donation to Giffords PAC. I hope you’ll give me a chance to explain why this request — today of all days — is so important.

Yesterday morning, Florida’s Republican Governor Rick Scott announced he was going to run for U.S. Senate. And what we need to do right now is send him a message from every American who has had enough of the inaction from Congress on this issue. And that message is:

“Rick Scott, we are going to do everything we can to defeat you this November. The gun lobby doesn’t need any more allies in the U.S. Senate.”

Shortly after the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, we ran ads highlighting Rick Scott’s history of indulging the gun lobby’s every wish. Today, we need you to help us keep up the pressure:

Make a $3 donation to Giffords PAC today to help us ensure that Rick Scott gets nowhere near the U.S. Senate where he will cast votes on gun violence legislation that impact every American.

If we can send a message to politicians across the country that their path to further elected office is imperiled by their support for the gun lobby’s priorities, we will do more than we could possibly imagine to change the trajectory of this debate.

And that starts with keeping Rick Scott out of office.

All my best,

Peter Ambler
Executive Director
Giffords PAC

I hate to break it to Peter Ambler - and to Rick Scott - but we in the gun culture really don't consider Scott an ally. If Rick Scott was an ally, 18 through 20 year olds wouldn't have lost their ability to purchase a rifle or shotgun.

Scott Signs Gun Control Bill Today; NRA Sues Today

Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) signed SB 7026, the Majory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Act, into law today. The bill would allow some teachers to carry firearms on campus, it allocated significant funding (approximately $500 million) to school safety, it imposed a 3-day waiting period on all firearm sales, and raised the age from 18 to 21 for all firearm purchases including shotguns and rifles. It also included some items related to mental health issues.

The bill was opposed by most Democrats in the legislature because they were against letting teachers have the opportunity to defend students with more than harsh words. They were also upset that it didn't include universal background checks and a state assault weapons ban (sic).

After the signing, the Florida Democratic Party reiterated its opposition to the bill, which was touted as bipartisan since it passed both chambers with GOP and Democratic votes. FDP chair Terrie Rizzo said the governor and Legislature didn't go nearly far enough.

The ban on the sale of firearms to those between the ages of 18 and 21 did not apply to law enforcement, correctional officers, or those serving in the military. The law would make it a felony for a licensed individual to sell the firearm and for a person to buy the firearm. Moreover, it also prohibited the private sale of handguns to those under the age of 21.

Within an hour of Gov. Scott signing SB 7026, the National Rifle Association filed suit in US District Court for the Northern District of Florida on behalf of their members in Florida. The suit was filed against Attorney General Pam Bondi and Commissioner of the Department of Law Enforcement Rick Swearingen in their official capacities. The suit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief against the bill on the basis that it unconstitutionally discriminates against 18 to 20 years by denying them both their Second Amendment rights and their 14th Amendment Due Process rights. It also seek an order enjoining the enforcement of FLA. STAT. § 790.065(13) by the defendants, their employees, and agents and from enforcing the ban on the sales of firearms to those aged 18 to 20.

16. Independent provisions of federal law also already significantly constrain the right of adult citizens under the age of 21 to purchase firearms. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(1), a federally licensed firearm dealer may not sell to any individual under the age of 21 any handgun—the “quintessential self-defense weapon” which is “the most popular weapon chosen by Americans for self-defense in the home.” Heller, 554 U.S. at 629. Florida’s new ban broadens these preexisting limits, by (1) extending the ban to rifles and shotguns, in addition to handguns, and (2) prohibiting these law-abiding, adult citizens from purchasing these firearms from any source, not just federally licensed dealers (i.e., those who are “engaged in the business of selling firearms at wholesale or retail.” 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(11)).

17. The effect of Florida’s age-based ban is to impose a significant, unequal, and impermissible burden on the right to keep and bear arms of a class of millions of law-abiding 18-to-20 year-old adult citizens.

The suit seeks both a facial and as-applied declaration that the new law is unconstitutional. With regard to the as-applied challenge, the complaint says:

32.  This ban particularly infringes upon, and imposes an impermissible burden upon, the Second Amendment rights of those NRA Members described above who are female. Females between the ages of 18 and 21 pose a relatively slight risk of perpetrating a school shooting such as the one that occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, or, for that matter, a violent crime of any kind. For example, in 2015, women in this age group accounted for only 1.8% of arrests for violent crime, while males in the same age bracket accounted for 8.7% of such arrests—and males between the ages of 21 and 24, who may lawfully purchase firearms under current law, accounted for 9.2%. See Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States: 2015 tbls. 39 and 40, available at https://goo.gl/8pVWnb; see also BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS, WOMEN OFFENDERS at 2, 13 (2009) (female offenders responsible for only 14% of violent crimes, and only 10% of female offenders aged 18-20), available at https://goo.gl/3qAJXu. Regardless of its facial validity, Florida’s ban is therefore unconstitutional, void, and invalid as applied to women between the ages of 18 and 21.

The full complaint can be found here.