By Joshua Rhett Miller - FOX News
A Florida legislator wants anyone trying to buy ammunition to
complete an anger management program first, in what critics say is the
latest example of local lawmakers reaching for constitutionally-dubious
solutions to the problem of gun violence.
The bill filed Saturday by state Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville,
would require a three-day waiting period for the sale of any firearm and
the sale of ammunition to anyone who has not completed anger management
courses. The proposal would require ammo buyers to take the anger
management courses every 10 years.
"This is not about guns," Gibson said. "This is about ammunition and
not only for the safety of the general community, but also for the
safety of law enforcement."
Gibson said she's concerned with citizens stockpiling ammunition,
potentially creating dangerous situations should those individuals ever
come in contact with law enforcement agencies or criminals.
"It's about getting people to think, really, about how much
ammunition they need," Gibson said. "It's a step, I think, in a safer
direction. It's about getting people to think before they buy."
Gibson insisted the bill is not "accusatory" toward gun and
ammunition owners, but rather an effort to improve the safety of her
community. She recalled the death of a Jacksonville man, Jordan Davis,
17, who was fatally shot during a confrontation with another man in
November. Michael David Dunn, 46, of Satellite Beach, has pleaded not
guilty to first-degree murder in the case.
Gibson first announced her intentions to introduce such legislation
last month during a rally for Davis, saying "people are just not as
patient as they used to be," according to the Florida Times-Union.
"We see the rage on the road all the time," she continued Wednesday. "People are just more impatient, I don't know what it is."
Gibson's bill does not offer a threshold for the amount of ammunition
needed to necessitate the need for anger management courses.
"It is unlawful to: A) Sell ammunition to another person who does not
present certification that he or she has successfully completed an
anger-management program consisting of at least 2 hours of online or
face-to-face instruction in anger-management techniques," the bill
reads. "The certification must be renewed every 10 years. B) Purchase or
otherwise obtain ammunition by fraud, false pretense, or false
representation."
Those in violation of the bill, if passed, would face a second-degree
misdemeanor charge. Anyone found in violation a second time within a
year of a prior conviction would face a first-degree misdemeanor charge.
Critics of the bill, however, derided the legislation as "absolutely
ridiculous" and suggested that Gibson take a course on the U.S.
Constitution.
"When I first saw it, I thought it had to be a joke," said Sean
Caranna, executive director of Florida Carry, a nonprofit group
championing the right to bear arms. "They're trying to say that anyone
who owns a gun or shoots a gun or has ammunition for it needs counseling
and obviously has some anger problems."
Caranna said he was disappointed that Gibson wasted her time on the
bill instead of focusing on other issues like jobs or the state's rate
of foreclosures, which is the highest in the nation.
"We've got a lot of issues that should be the focus of these bill
slots with limited filing, but instead we put in something as ridiculous
as this," he said. "I don't see a planet where this passes. This is an
attempt to grab attention – it has to be. And that's really
disappointing."
Jon Gutmacher, an Orlando attorney and author of "Florida Firearms:
Law, Use & Ownership," told FoxNews.com that the bill would almost
certainly be found to be unconstitutional based on prior restraint.
"It has no reasonable relationship to anything," he said. "There has
to be a reasonable basis to believe that a person had a substantial
anger problem that could cause public harm."
Gutmacher said he found the bill to be an "insult" to any gun owner in the Sunshine State.
"It's absurd on its face," he continued. "And anyone who proposes
that legislation is in my mind unfit for the legislature because it
shows a basic problem with their thinking process, aside from their lack
of understanding of what the Constitution is all about. That's the kind
of bill that doesn't even get past committee."
