Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Mayor plans next challenge to gun laws
The Coral Gables mayor, riding the momentum of a legal victory, is already planning his next move toward cities’ being able to regulate guns.
Mayor Raúl Valdés-Fauli said Wednesday he already plans to push for a city law on guns if Florida municipalities ultimately were to triumph in a legal battle with the state.
The battle over gun regulation mounted this week when the state appealed a court ruling that struck down penalties for elected officials who push gun-control laws.
Valdés-Fauli has long wanted to do his part. In response to the Stoneman Douglas massacre, Valdés-Fauli had taken a leap to challenge gun laws last year by sponsoring a local ban on the sale of assault rifles. But the city backed down, fearful that Coral Gables would be sued because of a 2011 law that punishes local officials for passing their own gun legislation and that leaves cities on the hook for lawsuits.
Cities in Florida banned together and sued the state to get rid of such sanctions, which include a $5,000 fine and removal of office by the governor.
On Friday, the cities won.
But Tuesday, the state filed an appeal, leaving the sanctions still in place, at least for now.
Valdés-Fauli’s proposed legislation last year had identified 65 guns that would be banned from sale in the city, including an AR-15, the rifle used in the killings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
“It’s very disappointing,” he said of the state’s recent decision to appeal. “For the state to do this is unconscionable. I hope [the cities] prevail.”
Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson’s recent ruling determined that the 2011 law was unconstitutional. City officials saw Dodson’s ruling as a big win, opening the door for them to challenge gun laws.
Among the Florida officials named behind the appeal is Attorney General Ashley Moody.
Her office declined comment on the issue Wednesday, citing the pending litigation. Four attorneys in her office who filed the appeal could not be reached for comment.
The state still has the authority to prohibit local regulation of guns: Since 1987, Florida has had what is known as a “preemption” law that’s intended to prevent local governments from passing gun regulations that are stricter than state firearms laws.
But since an amendment in the law that came in 2011, politicians faced consequences for even trying. They have been afraid to make any effort at their own laws, fearing they could be fined, fired, or that their cities would be left on the hook for lawsuits from gun owners. An example of legislation on the local level could be banning guns from the lobby of city halls or public parks.
The state’s “preemption” penalties “were designed to stop cities from taking any action,” said Jamie Cole, Weston’s attorney who has led the legal action for the cities across the state. Last week’s decision was a “major victory for the cities and elected officials” because it would “enable cities to test the boundaries of the firearm preemption without fear.”
Weston led the charge of dozens of cities to challenge the state law, which was backed by the gun lobby. There are now about 30 cities in the lawsuit, and a handful of counties.
Along with Moody, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Richard Swearingen, all Republicans, also are appealing the decision.
A spokesperson for the governor did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The only defendant that told Moody not to appeal is Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried. On Wednesday she said Florida was the first in the country to punish leaders for their votes. She said the penalties became a “model of draconian legislation for other states.” She said the appeal was “wrong” and that the NRA’s influence “on this office is over.”
Fried’s office said 44 states now have some form of state preemption of local firearms ordinances.
Moody became “Florida’s voice for the NRA,” charged Fred Guttenberg, the father of 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg, who was shot in the back on the third floor of the 1200 building at Stoneman Douglas. He noted how days ago Moody’s office filed paperwork to fight a proposed constitutional amendment to ban possession of assault weapons in Florida to appear on the 2020 election ballot.
“I’m not OK with it,” Guttenberg said.
He argues the preemption law “is a law that came into effect because the NRA wanted it. It is a law that serves no purpose but to punish those who are responsible for upholding the safety of their citizens who want to do more.”
Cole said he will continue to fight. For now, the judge’s order granting immunity to politicians is “stayed,” meaning it’s not in effect until a three-judge panel with the appeals court rules.
“Judge Dodson’s decision was well-reasoned, well-written and supported by decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, Florida Supreme Court and Florida’s District Courts of Appeal. It is based upon bedrock principles of American democracy and should be upheld on appeal,” Cole said.
Activists said they are frustrated the state will fight Dodson’s decision.
Jeff Kasky, the father of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High student activist Cameron Kasky, who is a founder of March for Our Lives, created the Families vs Assault Rifles PAC last year.
“The NRA has long run the state of Florida,” Kasky said. “It’s only one cycle ago that [former] Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam declared himself an NRA sellout.” He said gun advocates have a “death grip over the state of Florida. The fact that Republican legislators are receptive to this type of behavior is anti-Democratic, it should be frightening to every citizen of this country let alone every Florida voter.”