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Trigger Lock Law Ruled "Null and Void"
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"...City and county officials are not above the law. There was really no
other way [the court] could rule because the statutes are abundantly
clear..." |
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-- NRA Past President Marion P. Hammer |
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Marion P. Hammer |
In an opinion handed down on Wednesday, the
Florida Court of Appeal for the 3rd District
found the trigger-lock ordinance of the City of South
Miami "null and void" under Florida's preemption statute. The lawsuit
against the ordinance was brought by the NRA,
Unified Sportsmen of Florida, and individual plaintiffs.
The ordinance - which was proposed by
Miami-Dade's anti-gun Mayor Alex Penelas and supported by an opinion
issued by Florida's anti-gun Attorney General Bob Butterworth - purported
to require that every firearm, without exception, be stored with a
trigger lock. No exception existed for firearms stored in a safe,
antiques, or firearms kept accessible for self defense.
The trial court had originally dismissed the suit as "unripe" because no
person had been prosecuted yet, but the Court of Appeal reversed that
decision, not only deciding that the case was ripe for decision, but
also ruling on the merits that the ordinance is invalid. The case was
sent back to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with the
opinion, meaning a formal judgment in favor of the plaintiffs (NRA and
law-abiding gun owners) and against the City must be entered by the
trial judge.
NRA Past President Marion P. Hammer, commenting on the ruling, stated,
"City and county officials are not above the law. There was really no
other way [the court] could rule because the statutes are abundantly
clear." Similar trigger-lock ordinances have been passed by other
jurisdictions besides the City of South Miami, and the decision of the
Court of Appeal in this case makes clear that these ordinances are also
without legal authority.
Related Stories...
Florida Supreme Court Rejects Reckless Lawsuit (Nov. 2001)
Florida Puts Us Over The Halfway Point! (May 2001)
Florida Court Upholds Privacy Rights of NRA Members (Jan. 2001)
Marion Hammer Responds to Texas Catholic (Mar. 2000)
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