Florida Sheriff Supports Open Carry; Criticizes so called "secret vote"

Sheriff Frank Mckeithen of Bay County, Florida, has come out in favor of open carry and the Second Amendment, and against the way in which the Florida Sheriff’s Association conducted a vote to lobby against the open carry bill.  The vote has been represented in the media as a “secret vote”.   The accepted definition of a secret ballot is one in which the identities of the voters are kept secret from the people who count the votes.  That way, reprisals against people who vote for or against a particular measure or person are prevented, and people have less to worry about votes being bought by those in power.  Secret ballots are generally eschewed in legislatures, because it is expected that legislatures *will* be held accountable by the electorate.  From wikipedia.org:

The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter‘s choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous, forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation and potential vote buying.

But the Sheriff’s Association vote on the open carry bill was anything but secret, except in the most perverted sense of the term.  The vote was carried out by telephone, so the management of the Sheriffs’ Association had every opportunity to “buy” and influence votes.  The Sheriffs’ votes were not anonymous to the management. The only thing “secret” about the ballot is that the Sheriffs were assured that their votes would not be made public, so that they could not be held accountable by the voters!

By using the term “secret vote”, the management of the Sheriffs’ association gets double duty from the deception: it cloaks the voting as anonymous, and therefore a reflection of the individual Sheriff’s conscience; and it keeps the Sheriffs’ from being held politically accountable for their vote.  It is a Machiavellian masterpiece.  From newsherald.com:

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who is also the legislative committee chair of the FSA, said because of the timing with which the proposal is projected to come up in the legislative session, sheriffs were encouraged to call in and vote by phone and the results would be presented as the group opinion. Other than the tallies being taken by phone, the vote was typical of other decisions the FSA has conducted, he said.

Sheriff Gualtieri heads up the opposition to gun rights in the Sheriffs’ Association.  He is the FSA’s Legislative chairman.  From Ammoland.com:

You’ll remember Sheriff Gualtieri. He’s not known for his support of guns, gun owners or pro-gun legislation.

In May of 2013, he vowed to start enforcing a little-used county ordinance that requires background checks at local gun shows for all private sales. The county ordinance gathered dust since it was enacted in 1998. Violators faced misdemeanor charges. After garnering a few headlines, the plan fizzled. Gun shows were held without any problems. No arrests were ever made.

Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen objected to the voting procedure. He believes that individual Sheriffs should be held accountable by the electorate for their stance on such issues. From newsherald.com:

McKeithen said he was one who is in favor of the concept of open carry and that issues with the bill’s language could be dealt with over time. He said as an officer sworn to uphold the Constitution, open carry came down to supporting the Second Amendment.

There is no logical or evidence based reason to ban the open carry of firearms.  The practice is already law in the vast majority of states.  Texas is the most recent addition to those who do not ban open carry, making the total 45 states.  The Florida law is more restrictive than most, only allowing those with a concealed carry permit to carry openly.

There are a few “may issue” states that are highly restrictive of permits to carry either openly or concealed; states such as New Jersey, Maryland, and Hawaii.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included. Link to Gun Watch