A path toward accomplishing an assault-rifle ban in Florida

Though many more gun deaths occur each year from accidents, suicides, and oneon-one homicides than from assault-type rifles, the stark horror of a mass-killing rampage makes this particular weapon — and how to ban it — a truly incendiary topic. Most of us have thoughts on what needs to be done. Here, for better or worse, are mine.

As a prelude to formal action, to me it seems extremely important to first tone down the rhetoric. Unfortunately, discussions of banning any firearm quickly turn into an “us vs. them” shouting match. This culture war causes many gun advocates to immediately dig in their heels and cry that any form of regulation is but the first step in the “government plot” to seize all our guns.

We need to (a) stop calling those who own assault-type weapons “crazies” and “child murderers.” It is simply ludicrous to think that they feel neither grief nor sadness when a massacre occurs; (b) stop screaming for a repeal of the Second Amendment. That is pure silliness: the amendment is here to stay, and in reality, most people do not want to see it repealed anyway; and (c) stop talking about “gun control.” We do not want to “control” anything. What we want is to BAN assault-type rifles. Nothing more, nothing less. You can have as many rifles as your desire and your checkbook will permit — just not those designed and intended for no other purpose than to kill human beings!

Now, it has been crystal clear for a long time that the Florida Legislature will not entertain any proposal to prohibit the sale and purchase of these weapons of mass destruction. That conclusion was reinforced once again recently when such a bill couldn’t even get a committee hearing.

So what is the answer? We must undertake an “Initiative” as provided in Article XI of the Florida Constitution, bypassing the stone-deaf Legislature and putting the question directly before us voters. The proposition could take either of two forms: one, expressly prohibiting the sale of these weapons, along the lines of the well-written 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which unfortunately expired in 2004; or two, giving local governments the discretion to enact a ban as well as other reasonable restrictions on gun sales in general. (Existing state law prohibits, figuratively on pain of death, any such local legislation.)

This second alternative is perhaps the better choice: for example, Broward, Dade, Palm Beach and other similarly-minded counties could hold regional meetings and then agree upon uniform ordinance language. And by the same token, those counties up north that consider gun regulation of any kind as un-American can choose not to give the matter a second thought.

Unfortunately, as my friend and colleague, Coral Springs mayor and former state senator Walter “Skip” Campbell, has confirmed, the time-consuming requirements for an initiative make it virtually impossible to put something on the 2018 ballot; thus the target would have to be the 2020 general election. And while a 60 percent favorable vote is necessary for passage, recent polls suggest that this figure is readily achievable. Hope springs eternal.