A judge has struck down a law that allows city and county officials to be fined and thrown out of office for passing gun-related laws.
The ruling still allows the state to prohibit local regulation of guns. But a 2011 amendment to a law that allows city officials to be punished for even trying is unconstitutional, Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson wrote in a 15-page order Friday afternoon ruling.
Weston led the charge of dozens of cities to challenge the state law, which was backed by the gun lobby. The penalties include a $5,000 fine for elected officials, removal from office by the governor, as well as cities left on the hook for lawsuits from gun owners.
The cities argued the penalties were “onerous” and led to “suppression of political speech and action.”
“It was the right thing to do to challenge the governor’s overreach,” said Pompano Beach Mayor Rex Hardin. Now cities can consider “what the local citizenry wants done. It said to the state ‘Sorry, you overstepped your boundaries. And no, you cannot do that.'”
The cities took up the cause months after the 2018 massacre in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where a gunman killed 17 people and wounded 17 others.
“I failed to understand how simply being a public official allows you to violate the law and not be punished,” Powerhouse NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Friday.
Jamie Cole, Weston’s city attorney, who has led the charge, said now, for example, guns are prohibited in city chambers, but governments don’t have the right to ban them from the lobby of city halls or public parks.
Cole said the intent was to scare politicians from even trying to create regulations.
Now, he says: “Legislators won’t be legislating with fear they will be personally fined or thrown out of office.”
The state could still appeal.
“This is a big deal,” said Dan Daley. a state representative and former Coral Springs city commissioner. “It thaws the chilling effect that those provisions had. It allows local leaders to make local decisions.”
And, he said: “It gives local officials the opportunity to test those laws.”
