Orange votes to end loophole, reimposes gun waiting period
Orange County commissioners took aim Tuesday at a gun-law loophole, voting unanimously to reimpose a three-day waiting period on the sale of firearms at gun shows and flea markets.
A delay allows authorities to check the eligibility of buyers and block sales to felons and others disqualified from possessing guns.
Proponents like Andrea Halperin, an Orlando mom and local leader of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, said it’s good policy because background checks have blocked over 3 million gun sales to prohibited buyers.
“This ordinance is a good idea because we believe it can help save lives, that’s the bottom line,” Halperin said. “Anytime you prevent somebody who shouldn’t have a gun from getting a gun — whether it’s one person or 20 people — that’s a good thing for the safety of the citizens of Florida.”
Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, in her final year as
the county’s top elected official, called for the proposed ordinance last month in the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
“We closed the gunshow loophole,” Jacobs said.
“It’s all we’re allowed to do at the local level but it is significant and I’m very proud the board unanimously supported it.”
The new ordinance restores a three-day waiting period the county repealed seven years ago to avoid what county attorneys called “draconian penalties” from a controversial state law.
The 2011 state law, backed by the National Rifle Association, sought to penalize and oust local officials who tried to enact local gun restrictions.
In April, the Orlando City Council voted to join about a dozen Florida cities as plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the 2011 state law and its penalties, which gave the governor authority to remove local officials. The lawsuit against Gov. Rick Scott and other state officials challenges Florida’s ability to punish local leaders who considered enacting local firearms regulations.
Orlando City Attorney Mayanne Downs said the suit asks a judge to declare the state law unconstitutional.
A recent statement from the city said the 2011 state law has unfortunately “prevented cities from enacting policies that keep our residents safe from gun violence.”
Jacobs has said the proposed county ordinance “takes it a step further” than the lawsuit.
Democratic state Sen. Linda Stewart of Orlando called on the commission to pass the ordinance.
“Especially in our community, failure to do everything we can to prevent senseless and unnecessary gun violence like the tragedy at Pulse nightclub and recently at Parkland school is absolutely unacceptable,” she said in a message posted Monday on her Twitter account.
Candidates to be succeed Jacobs as Orange County mayor were split on the ordinance.
Winter Park businessman Rob Panepinto dismissed the proposed county effort, saying the only way to effectively address the gun issue is at the state level, according to published reports. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings supports the ordinance. Orange County Commissioner Pete Clarke voted for it.
“If I need a gun and I can’t wait three days, I don’t need a gun,” said Clarke, adding he has a concealedcarry permit and would be exempt from the waiting period. “If they want to come throw me in jail and fine me $5,000, so be it.”
The proposed ordinance notes the Florida Constitution provides counties with the authority to require a criminal history records check and waiting period for gun sales.
Exempt from the provisions are individuals licensed to carry concealed firearms; law enforcement or correctional officers; and sales to a licensed firearms dealer.
Gloria Pickar, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Orange County, was among those voicing support for the measure.
“We know how the ordinance isn’t airtight, but it is a fine start,” she said, adding that the group wants to do everything possible to prevent gun violence and suicide. “A three-day waiting period would go a long way to eliminating the impulsive nature of suicide.”
But Zach Detwiler of the Libertarian Party of Orange County said he doubted the law would have much effect.
“I think they had the right spirit. I believe we need to make safer communities,” he said. “But I can go to a different county and purchase a gun at a gun show without a waiting period.”
The decision comes almost three months after 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, armed with an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle and multiple magazines, arrived at the South Florida school in an Uber on Feb. 14 and began firing at students and teachers, Broward County deputy sheriffs said.
He is charged with killing 17 people and wounding 17 others at the school in Parkland, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale.
Like the attack on the Pulse nightclub in June 2016 — where a lone gunman armed with an assault weapon killed 49 people — the school slaughter prompted protests and calls for stricter gun laws.
Both the shooter at Pulse and at Parkland legally acquired their weapons. Under recently changed state law, Cruz, who was 18, could not buy the gun he used.