Bringing Guns Into Child Care Centers: Florida Democrat Realizes That's Probably Not a Good Idea

• I agree with the condition which this law demands, it is a punishable offence to bring armed materials to these centers.  

• I agree. Same as with the feel-good gratuitous laws passed by knee-jerk reaction right after 9/11. We had plenty of security agencies before and after 9/11,  yet repubs led by Bush still knee-jerked DHS into an agency that has grown and, like all such hastily-created entities, once turned loose citizens learn they are just searching thru luggage and our bodies to get on planes which was done before but airlines paid for security now taxpayers pay but have minimal civilian oversight.

• Nice twist of your words. Folks, the reporter hasn't done his or her homework, and doesn't know what they are talking about. The law that passed did not abolish anything, nor did it loosen any gun laws anywhere.  What it did was fine cities for violating the law as it has been for over ten years.  It made the criminals who violated your rights pay. Now, if you want to write a story, how about one where you show how cities have been killing people by disarming them for the criminals.

• "Berman has now filed a bill that would prevent people from bringing guns into government buildings and child care centers...". No, she hasn't. She has filed a bill that would only prevent licensed, law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves and others in government buildings and child care centers. Like all ill-conceived gun control laws, this bill does absolutely nothing to stop a criminal intent committing a violent crime. "We must protect our children when parents enroll them in a childcare facility," says Palm Beach County Commissioner Burt Aaronson in a statement. "Guns do not belong there. We must protect the people who visit their local government offices." Burt thinks that by having government buildings and child care facilities on a prohibited places list, it will stop someone from committing a heinous crime. The only thing is, he has forgotten that carrying a firearm ANYWHERE without a license is already a felony. All this does is criminalize carrying a firearm by a licensee. How does this protect anyone? Folks, these are the people who are supposedly the "leaders" of the community. A lot of hot air and "feel good" legislation that does not accomplish the stated goal of public safety. If Berman and Aaronson were serious about public safety, they'd be supporting the keeping of dangerous felons off the street. But you don't hear that out of them, do you? Why not, I ask? And you should be asking why not as well.

• Hmmm, another anti-gun law.  Now, let's think this through a little.  Can mass shooters and other criminals bring "their" guns into so-called restricted or "gun-free zones?"  Will they?  Think about it ........... Oh, right ...

• Lawful citizens that are licensed to carry firearms are not a danger in child care centers, schools, or government offices.  The danger is criminals that are prohibited from possessing firearms, and they are especially dangerous in areas where they know citizens are disarmed.

• CRIMINALS do not belong in childcare centers. Gun control=keeping victims defenseless against violent criminals. If you think you can force my kids to be in a place where they can be murdered, raped, and maimed with absolute impunity, because adults are legally prohibited from defending them, then you need to spend the rest of your life in prison, Burt Aaronson.

• Let’s not fool ourselves, liberals aren’t stupid. They know these laws have no actual deterrent effect on crime. Far from the noble purposes they publicly claim as their motives is a far more nefarious, true, agenda – to ban guns, or their use, by whatever means necessary.   Liberals champion civil rights and democracy when it supports their agenda and decry them when they don’t. Make no mistake; if unrestrained by law, or the means of resistance by their victims, liberals wouldn’t hesitate, nor have they in the past, to use whatever force (to include imprisonment and death) they saw fit to make people do what they thought was right.   The goal is simple, anti-gun liberals don’t want people to carry concealed weapons – period.  Since democracy went against them this time (in that the people voted for concealed carry), they’re trying to achieve their goal through the back channel.   By arbitrarily declaring locations people go to routinely on a daily basis prohibited places, they create a patchwork of legal and illegal locations. This is designed simply to harass people who choose to carry concealed weapons making it a practical impossibility and ultimately more trouble than it’s worth - thus achieving their goal in the end.   Let’s be clear, an area doesn’t become sensitive simply because someone calls it such. For an area to truly be sensitive, it must have a profound impact on national security, public safety or the rule of law. Court houses, Legislative chambers (not simply government buildings) and nuclear power plants are examples of such places.   Despite the emotions involved, a school (and a daycare by extension) simply is not a sensitive area. In fact, prohibiting teachers, counselors and the other people you trust with your children’s lives every day from being armed only guarantees that when a an evil person comes intent on causing harm, there will be no one there able to stop him.   The Israelis understand this and allow their teachers to be armed. In fact, in 2008 at a Kibbutz outside of Jerusalem, an armed high school counselor shot and killed two Palestinians who had entered the school and were randomly stabbing the students. This was not a professional soldiers, or police officer – this was a high school guidance counselor doing her duty to protect her students.   Ultimately, banning guns from child care facilities will do nothing to reduce crime, or protect children. It will only serve to create one more victim rich environment and turn every law abiding parent into a criminal when they go to pick up their child.

• These “feel good” laws do nothing to prevent shootings at day care centers (have there really been a lot of these lately or ever).  Bad people bent on do bad things don’t stop at the sight of a sign saying “gun free zone”, and those foolish enough to believe such signs and laws will keep them safe will surely be disappointed.  Best case scenario, divorced/separated parent burst into a day care center to kidnap their child, waving a gun.  The day care worker calmly takes a copy of the law forbidding firearms in day care centers to the would be shooter, who upon seeing the new law immediately turns around and leaves.  Now you “feel good”.

• I would ask what is the purpose of creating these laws? If it's to (as they would like you to believe) prevent somebody from shooting up the place, then I would say these people are idiots if they think the 6 months and a monetary fine is going to prevent the caper from popping off. If the logic is that a child could gain access to a weapon then again, the laws already in place for allowing access to a firearm by a minor are more harsh than the penalty for improper possession. I think they're just mad about new law preventing local municipalities from making their own laws that cherry pick the bill of rights. 

• Where I live, if you have a license to carry concealed weapons you can do so in the State Capitol, other government buildings, day care centers, and the parts of airports outside of security.  You cannot carry in schools, jails, courtrooms and a few other places. We haven't had any problems with licensed carriers and I doubt Florida would either.  If there are problems, they will likely be with people who aren't legal to own a gun in the first place.  Such people don't give a rat's patoot about signs informing them of gun free zones in any case, so I think you can relax. 

• There's no such thing as a "licensed gun owner."  You either have a concealed weapons license which enables you to legally carry a concealed weapon outside of your property or you're just a regular gun owner.  No gun registration nor any special kind of permits are required. This change in the law doesn't really affect many people.  As of July there were 870,000+ people with concealed weapons licenses in the state of Florida.  That's less than 5% of the population.  And how many of those actually carry a weapon or firearm on their person?  Too much herpin' and derpin' from people fearing for their lives.  You're more likely to get shot by a criminal who shouldn't even have a firearm in the first place than by an individual with a concealed weapons license.

• Depends on the building... Here's the entire list pulled from 790.09: No license issued pursuant to this section shall authorize any person to carry a concealed weapon or firearm into any place of nuisance as defined in s. 823.05; any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station; any detention facility, prison, or jail; any courthouse; any courtroom, except that nothing in this section would preclude a judge from carrying a concealed weapon or determining who will carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom; any polling place; any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special district; any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof; any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms; any school administration building; any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion of the establishment is primarily devoted to such purpose; any elementary or secondary school facility; any career center; any college or university facility unless the licensee is a registered student, employee, or faculty member of such college or university and the weapon is a stun gun or nonlethal electric weapon or device designed solely for defensive purposes and the weapon does not fire a dart or projectile; inside the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport, provided that no person shall be prohibited from carrying any legal firearm into the terminal, which firearm is encased for shipment for purposes of checking such firearm as baggage to be lawfully transported on any aircraft; or any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law.

• Florida law does have laws that make it a crime to bring a firearm into a government building. 

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