Permits an issue in Florida race

Records show mistakes in concealed carry, other licenses

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A 2012 internal investigation found that 48 Florida state employees made mistakes in issuing permits for concealed weapons, security guards and other similar licenses — in some cases not even looking at applications, according to records released this week.

The laxity among Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services employees was addressed at the time, including with at least one firing and new “checks and balances,” officials said.

But the records add to revelations of lapses in concealed carry permitting in 2016-17 that have drawn criticism for department Commissioner Adam Putnam as he runs for governor in the wake of February’s Parkland school shooting, which brought gun safety to the forefront of the political agenda.

A campaign spokesman for Putnam, a Republican who strongly supports gun rights, said the problems uncovered in 2012 started under a previous administration.

“Adam Putnam has proactively led efforts to hold government employees accountable and took action to address this issue which began before he was elected,” campaign spokeswoman Meredith Beatrice said.

Brad Herold, campaign manager for Putnam’s Republican challenger, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, said the latest revelations are “another example of what happens when you put career politicians in executive positions. Adam Putnam has clearly been spending too much time running for his next elected office and not enough time doing his job.”

Putnam was criticized last month after acknowledging that the agency was forced to revoke 291 permits awarded in 2016 and 2017 and that it fired an employee last year, after it was found that she had failed to complete required federal background checks.

The records released this week show that the department’s inspector general began an investigation in August 2012 after it learned an employee issued an armed security guard license to a felon.

The review found that among the 47 other employees who failed to follow proper review procedures, the error rate varied widely, from an employee who reviewed 2,219 two-page application forms and failed in one case to look at the second page of a security officer license renewal, to a woman who was fired after it was learned she approved 3,625 licenses without doing full reviews.