It's Bring Your Gun to Work Day - Every Day in Florida
On April 9, 2008, Florida lawmakers passed the Preservation & Protection of the Right to Keep & Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles Act to allow most of Florida's residents to legally take their favorite guns to work with them, provided that the weapons are kept in a locked vehicle.
The measure was backed by the National Rifle Association and won approval in the Florida Senate by a vote of 26-13, according to a news report published by Reuters. The bill bans business owners from prohibiting employees, customers or those invited to a place of business from keeping guns locked in their vehicles on their private property as long as the gun owner has obtained a permit to carry the weapon.
The bill now goes to Governor Charlie Crist for his signature, and then it will be a Florida law.
Citing the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, supporters of the measure say that the founding fathers meant for American citizens to be allowed to carry weapons and that is why it came second on the Bill of Rights. This point has been debated for years and recently made its way to the United States Supreme Court. It has been argued that the Bill of Rights never intended for private citizens to own guns, but provided the right for organized militia such as police departments and government military organizations to have weapons at their disposal.
The Supreme Court has, at least for now, decided that the Bill of Rights and specifically the Second Amendment give private citizens the right to own guns. And in a classic "give them an inch, and they'll take a mile" way, Florida lawmakers have extended that constitutional right to allow guns in cars.
However, Florida is not the first state to pass such a law. Similar laws have been passed in Alaska, Kentucky and Mississippi. Oklahoma has passed a law forbidding employers from preventing employees from bringing guns to work, but the law is not enforced due to an appellate court decision that the legislation was unconstitutional.
There are some limitations to the Florida bill. Certain workplaces such as nuclear power plants, prisons, schools and companies whose business involves homeland security will be exempt from the law and employees at these workplaces will simply have to leave their guns at home unless they want to change jobs.
The bill has been criticized by some as an invitation to more workplace violence. Studies have shown that there are more homicides and workplace shootings in work environments that allow guns. Critics also say that it takes vital rights away from business owners who want to have a say as to what is and is not allowed on their property.
Several business groups in Florida have urged Crist to veto the bill, but their request is likely to fall on deaf ears as they have been fighting the gun bill for three years, yet in the end the NRA won the battle.