Earlier than Hurricane Helene made landfall, a number of municipalities in Florida declared native states of emergency to make sure they’d be accessible for state and federal funds wanted for anticipated storm-related cleanup and restore. As earlier reported on TTAG and different gun web sites and information shops, the town of Okeechobee went up to now in theirs as to ban the sale of weapons and ammunition and prohibited public firearm possession by anybody aside from regulation enforcement or army members.
Doug Howlett w/ The Reality About Weapons Continues
The transfer introduced an on the spot response from residents throughout the nation who noticed this as an unlawful restriction of constitutional rights. The response amounted to as we speak’s social media model of a tar and feathering and far of the anger was directed towards the person who signed the order, Okeechobee Police Chief Donald Hagan.
Police officers at the moment are claiming to 12 Information in Florida that the signing of the order was all only a large mistake. Late yesterday, the Okeechobee Police Division admitted to enacting the flawed declaration final week, which mistakenly included a gun ban.
The order, signed by Hagan on Thursday, September 26, cited Florida Statute 870.044, which prohibits the sale of weapons and ammunition and restricts public firearm possession by anybody aside from regulation enforcement or army personnel. The Firearms Coverage Coalition (FPC) shortly known as out the town on social media, bringing nationwide consideration to the problem.
UPDATE: We simply spoke with somebody within the @RonDeSantis administration. Not solely was this native declaration unlawful and unconstitutional, we have been instructed that as quickly because the Governor’s workplace was conscious they directed the Police Chief to rescind the order. pic.twitter.com/w3yVcqQvw1
— Firearms Coverage Coalition (@gunpolicy) September 30, 2024
Romanello instructed 12 Information that Police Chief Hagan was not current in the course of the fallout as a result of he had obtained so many private assaults from offended residents throughout the nation.
“Many of the noise is coming from people who reside exterior the town of Okeechobee,” Romanello added, which isn’t unusual when such a state of affairs positive factors nationwide consideration.
It’s value questioning although, how a police chief—or any metropolis official for that matter—may “by chance” outlaw weapons—even briefly—in a state the place the proper to bear arms is so deeply ingrained.
Native gun shops, like Wild Aspect Pawn and Gun, reported to 12 Information that they didn’t undergo any direct affect from the order.
“At no time did any Okeechobee Metropolis Police Division officers take any enforcement motion pursuant to the declaration. No weapons have been seized. No companies have been approached or instructed to take down their firearms,” Romanello additionally clarified.
He assured residents that the Okeechobee Police Division “very a lot helps our Second Modification” and values the rights of its residents.
Town launched an announcement explaining the state of affairs from their perspective as nicely, and is alleged to now be conducting a overview to find out how such a major mistake occurred within the first place. Romanello recommended that the declaration could have been supposed to fall below Chapter 870 of the Florida Statutes, which restricts firearms throughout riots or public dysfunction—not pure disasters like Hurricane Helene. However it’s essential that authorities officers in any capability perceive the legal guidelines they’re trying to implement and this case could also be a transparent instance of that.
Metropolis officers plan to offer extra solutions as soon as the overview is full, however for now, it stays a head-scratcher how a sweeping gun ban made it into an emergency order with nobody catching the error earlier than teams like FPC or the Second Modification Basis (SAF) jumped throughout it and turned it into nationwide information.
Firearms Coverage Coalition, a non-profit gun rights group headquartered in California, lately posted the discover on X, criticizing the police division for adopting the order, which banned the sale of weapons and ammunition and prohibited public firearm possession by anybody aside from regulation enforcement or army members.
