Cerabino: Gunshine State special: Permits before background checks

Frank Cerabino Late last year, an item was inserted into the bowels of mind-numbing 98-page piece of legislation about agricultural practices in Florida. The item from Florida’s Secretary of Agriculture and Consumer Services Adam Putnam was included near the end of Senate Bill 740. The item followed changes on how germination tests for seeds in hermetically sealed containers are conducted and the reimbursement of forestry firefighters for their licensing fees. Putnam’s insertion was about concealed weapons permits. OK, you might be asking what firearms regulations in the state of Florida have to do with agriculture? And shouldn’t the registration of concealed weapons permits be under the umbrella of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement? Well, you’re not thinking of things the right way. In Florida, handguns, like oranges and grapefruits, are considered a valuable crop. We grow firearms in Florida, which is why we have 1.8 million concealed weapons permits here — more than any other state. So, it’s not unusual in Florida to see a bill dealing with seed regulations segue into firearms. The change in the state’s gun laws that Putnam’s office had inserted called for concealed weapons permits to be granted to applicants in cases when the state had failed to verify all the background information. “Ninety days after the date of receipt of the completed application, if the department has not acquired final disposition or proof of restoration of civil and firearm rights, or confirmation that clarifying records are not available from the jurisdiction where […]

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