Orange weighs gun measure
County might reinstate 3-day waiting period on purchases to close ‘loophole’
Nearly three months after the Parkland mass shooting that killed 14 high school students and three adults in South Florida, Wes Hodge of Orlando is pleased that Orange County leaders on Tuesday will consider reinstating a three-day waiting period on firearm purchases.
“This is a no-brainer,” said Hodge, chairman of the Orange County Democratic Executive Committee. “We had the opportunity to do something about it after the Pulse shooting [in June 2016], but we didn’t. And it is disappointing that it took another tragedy to do something. … So I’m glad that the County Commission is looking at putting this back on the books.”
The proposed ordinance effectively would close the so-called “gun show loophole” by requiring nearly all buyers of firearms — whether it’s an AR-15 rifle, which was used in the Parkland shooting, or a Smith and Wesson handgun — in Orange County to wait three days before receiving their weapons. The ordinance also would institute universal background checks on buyers of firearms and challenges a 2011 state law preempting local governments from passing ordinances regulating
guns.
The restrictions would apply to any sales conducted on property that the public has a right to access — such as a gun show, flea market or exhibition show — according to the county attorney’s office. Buyers with concealed weapons permits, law-enforcement officers and prison guards would be exempt. It also would not apply to private sales.
“It’s a political stunt,” said Eric Friday, general counsel for Florida Carry, a nonpartisan group that supports gun rights. “You would have to search long and hard to find someone who bought a gun at a gun show and then used it to commit a crime. Criminals don’t buy guns at gun shows.”
Friday also pointed out that most dealers at gun shows have federal licenses to sell firearms as retailers and therefore are already required to abide by a threeday waiting period. And most people who attend gun shows in Orange County are among the 1.6 million Florida residents who have concealed weapons permits and would therefore be excluded from the restrictions, he said.
“What you are really stopping with this ordinance is some guy selling off their old gun collection” at a gun show or exhibition, Friday said.
He said his organization had not decided whether to challenge Orange’s ordinance in court if it passes.
Jorge Fernandez, a manager at Florida Gun Show, which organizes large gun shows with hundreds of dealers across the state, including at the Central Florida Fairgrounds several times a year, said his organization doesn’t have an opinion on the ordinance.
“We have over 700 tables at our larger shows and about 97 percent of those selling guns are federally licensed dealers and the rest are private vendors,” he said. “Everyone that comes to our gun shows must adhere to all state laws and local ordinances. So if Orange County wants to pass this ordinance, we say: So be it.”
County commissioners didn’t respond to calls for comment. A county spokesperson said Mayor Teresa Jacobs, who in an April 5 memo instructed the county attorney to draft an ordinance bringing back the waiting period, wouldn’t be available to comment on the ordinance before Tuesday’s meeting.
The new ordinance would restore the three-day waiting period restrictions the county repealed seven years ago to avoid what county attorneys called “draconian penalties” from the state. The 2011 state law took effect with support from the National Rifle Association. It created uniform gun laws across the state and penalizes local officials who try to enact any local restrictions on firearms. Those penalties on public officials include removal from office, fines up to $5,000 and a prohibition on using public funds to defend themselves.
Several Florida cities — including Orlando — filed a lawsuit last month in Leon County against Gov. Rick Scott and other state officials challenging that state statute, saying a 1998 state constitutional amendment allows counties to put in place restrictions on firearms.
Orange County spokeswoman Doreen Overstreet said the county’s legal staff and Jacobs are still considering joining the lawsuit. However, the decision could be “strictly the mayor’s decision” without the approval of the rest of the commission, she said.
On Tuesday, the public will have a chance to speak before commissioners either in support of or against the ordinance.
Those who plan to attend include state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, who will voice his support in favor of the ordinance, said Ida Eskamani, his chief of staff.
She said her office recently posted information about the county ordinance on social media sites — including Facebook — and “the support was overwhelming.”
A poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that nearly 7 in 10 adults favor stricter gun-control measures. More than 8 in 10 Americans favor expanding background check requirements to include gun shows and private sales, according to the poll of 1,122 adults queried March 14-19.
“I think that this is 100 percent sensible,” Hodge said in support of the county ordinance. “There is nothing wrong with a waiting period and a criminal background check.”
Friday, however, said Orange County should focus on legislation that will keep guns away from criminals or anyone that should not be allowed to own a gun rather than pushing a “feelgood” ordinance.
“This is to make it seem that they [commissioners] care and that they are actually doing something .... If there is legislation that will keep guns out of the hands of prohibited persons — that can be done with dueprocess protection, without interfering with their rights — we’ll jump behind it tomorrow.”
“I think that this is 100 percent sensible. There is nothing wrong with a waiting period and a criminal background check.” Wes Hodge, Orange County Democratic Executive Committee chairman on the proposed ordinance