Florida “Assault Weapons” Ban Amendment Targets All Semiautomatic Rifles & Shotguns

Opinion by Marion P. Hammer
USF Executive Director
NRA Past President

Florida – -(AmmoLand.com)- The so-called Florida “assault weapons” ban that is proposed for a constitutional amendment to be on the 2020 Election Ballot bans the possession of:

“any semiautomatic rifle or shotgun CAPABLE of holding more than ten (10) rounds of ammunition at once, either in a fixed or detachable magazine or other ammunition feeding device.”

The fact is, any rifle or shotgun that is “capable” of accepting or using, a detachable magazine that holds 10 rounds or less is also “capable” of accepting a magazine or magazine extension of any size. Magazines with a capacity of 3 all the way up to 100 rounds are in common use throughout the United States.

Therefore, ALL semiautomatic rifles and shotguns “capable” of using a detachable magazine or fixed magazine would be banned. UNLESS YOU REGISTER THEM WITH THE GOVERNMENT within a year — so the government knows who has guns and how many.

Otherwise you can be arrested, charged and prosecuted for felony possession of so-called “assault weapons” and your guns confiscated.

That means all Ruger 10-22 semiautomatic rifles, all Remington Model 1100 shotguns, all Benelli shotguns, all semiautomatic hunting rifles, all semiautomatic plinking and target rifles — you get the picture. If it is semiautomatic, kiss it goodbye.

Firearms that you legally purchased, legally owned, legally used, and legally possessed for years could suddenly be banned and you could end up in prison for merely continuing to possess your own property if you fail to register with the government. History shows that when the government knows who has guns and where they are, they can come and confiscate them.

Remember, once convicted of felony possession of a so-called “assault weapon,” then YOU LOSE ALL OF YOUR GUNS because felons can’t possess ANY GUNS, Period.

Further, manufacture and sale is also banned since there is no exemption whatever for possession due to manufacturing, distribution or sale.

Simply put, over 150 manufacturers may be forced to shut down and move out of Florida if they manufacture semiautomatic rifles or shotguns. Goodbye jobs, goodbye Pittman-Robertson money for youth gun safety programs, goodbye retail gun shops, HELLO, major damage to the job market and Florida’s economy.

A recent Gallop poll shows that over 40% of households ADMIT to owning at least one gun. That number is probably much higher since we don’t like telling pollsters what we own. In Florida with a population of over 22 million, that means 9-10 million Florida households could lose their home defense firearms if they are semiautomatic rifles or shotguns.

At an August 16th 2019 hearing, sponsoer and supporters of the “Assault Weapons” Amendment said the following:

“We don’t think it bans Ruger 10-22 rifles, they’re just .22s.” — BUT IT DOES !!!!!

“My Benelli shotgun is beautiful and shouldn’t be banned. — BUT IT WILL BE !!!!!

“We don’t want to shut down your shooting range and gun shop.” — BUT IT WILL !!!!!

Welcome to reality. What they think or what they say they want doesn’t matter.

ONLY the words matter and the proposed amendment will ban Ruger 10-22s, Benelli Shotguns, Remington Model 1100 shotguns and all semiautomatic rifles and shotguns with detachable or fixed magazine.

What matters is what the language says and does. And past experience has shown us that the government will enforce it as badly as they possibly can.

BOTTOMLINE: The sponsors and supporters either don’t know what the heck they are doing or they are lying. AND your Second Amendment rights are in danger. PERIOD.

About Unified Sportsmen of Florida;

Unified Sportsmen of Florida was organized in 1976 for the purpose of protecting the firearms rights of all law-abiding firearms owners in Florida.

Contact:

Unified Sportsmen of Florida
110-A South Monroe Street
P.O.Box 1387
Tallahassee, Florida 32302
850-222-9518

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