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Gun Law Gives New Meaning To 'Laid Off'

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Daniel Ruth

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 3, 2008

If you are a law-abiding citizen who possesses a concealed weapons permit, you may now bring your little gun to work and keep it in your car. Isn't that peachy?

At the same time, if you are a law-abiding citizen with a concealed weapons permit who also happens to be crazier than Ezra Pound meets the Unabomber, you too can bring your gun to the workplace, thus making it easier for you to start blasting away at your boss and/or co-workers and/or customers if you happen one day to have - issues.

Such is the inevitable consequence of the will of the Florida Legislature, a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Rifle Association, to make the workplace just that much more stressful, perhaps giving an entirely new meaning to the term "laid off."

The Legislature, a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Association of Funeral Directors, over the heated objections of groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Retail Association, trampled over the private property rights of business owners simply to play spin the AK-47 with the NRA.

Gutless Meets Deep Pockets
Under the new law, which went into effect this week, workers and customers are allowed to keep their guns in their parked cars on lots owned by government and private-sector enterprises.

All this occurred because, when it comes to standing up to the yahoos of the NRA and its deep pockets, the Florida Legislature is more gutless than Marshal Philippe Petain.

Alas, not only did Tallahassee pass a dreadful bill, but they managed to make things even worse by so ineptly writing a bad law U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle called the resulting legislation "stupid."

Hinkle made his observation while considering a preliminary injunction to prevent the bill from going into effect. For aside from a dearth of common sense, the gun bill was flawed in other areas,

The "You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me?" law prevents employers from barring workers or customers with concealed weapons permits from keeping their guns locked in their cars.

'Vewwy, Vewwy Angwy!'

But the law doesn't apply to businesses that don't have any workers with a concealed weapons permit, meaning some workplaces must comply, while others don't.

Also, the Elmer Fudd "I'm Getting Vewwy, Vewwy Angwy!" gun bill exempts high security areas like prisons and nuclear power plants, but would still permit people to bring their guns to places like day care centers and nursing homes, which might suggest even the NRA lotion boys who drafted this law recognized the potential for workplace violence.

There's probably a sophisticated legal methodology to explain this dichotomy, but "This is &^%$*&% nuts!" probably works just as well.

If it's such a great idea to be able to schlep guns everywhere, why should employees at prisons and nuclear power plants be treated like second-class basket cases-in-waiting?

Aren't they law-abiding citizens too? Just like Wesley Neal Higdon, who was a law-abiding citizen at a Kentucky plastic plant, right up until the moment last week when he got his gun from the parking lot and murdered five people before taking his own life.

Stupid, so mortally stupid.

Keyword: Book of Ruth, to read and comment on Daniel Ruth's blog.

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