Florida Gun Control Advocates, Wish List Stymied

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Gun Control Advocates, Wish List StymiedBy JOE FOLLICK jfollick@tampatrib.com Published: Jan 30, 2002TALLAHASSEE - Gun control advocates gave their wish list to lawmakers Monday, then admitted they might as well not bother. ``It's pathetic,'' said Sen. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-Weston. ``The only hearing these issues may get in the 2002 legislative session is right here'' at Monday's press conference. Democratic lawmakers and gun control groups said the National Rifle Association's grip on the Republican-controlled Legislature prevents open discussion of gun control. Sen. Steve Geller, D-Hallandale Beach, said the ``clout of the NRA'' kills any hearing for his perennial bill to mandate licensing for gun owners. Marion Hammer, Florida president of the NRA, scoffed at that. ``It's not NRA pressure, it's common sense that keeps these bills from being heard,'' she said. Brenda Watkins, president of the Tampa chapter of the Million Mom March, said she hopes lawmakers can force the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to maintain a database of all gun transactions in the state's pawnshops. The state maintains a database of all pawnshop transactions to assist investigations of stolen goods. But FDLE Commissioner Tim Moore said last year that a separate law prohibits the state from keeping information on gun transactions at pawnshops for more than 48 hours. NRA officials say keeping details on gun transactions infringes on privacy rights. But Jerry Vermette of the Florida Law Enforcement Property Recovery Unit said having quick access to gun dealings in pawnshops will help police fight crime and terrorism. Terrorists can be tracked or found through this system, said Vermette, a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office detective. Rep. Nan Rich, D-Weston, is sponsoring House Bill 303, which would require sellers at gun shows to conduct the same background checks on purchasers that apply at other retail stores. ``Why should anybody be able to walk into a gun show and walk out with an arsenal of weapons, no questions asked,'' Rich said. But Bill Bunting, president of the Pasco County-based Second Amendment Club of America, said requiring background checks at gun shows would be unfair and cumbersome. ``Besides, 98 percent of the sellers there are licensed and do the background checks,'' he said. Watkins blasted HB 149, a bill sponsored by Dade City Republican Ken Littlefield that would create a Second Amendment license plate. The revenue from the plates would fund NRA-approved gun training courses in public schools. Watkins said Littlefield told her the training could involve using real guns in schools. ``Never have I been more embarrassed to be a Republican,'' she said. But Littlefield said there ``probably'' would be no guns used in classrooms. ``This is more about teaching students about the value and sanctity of life,'' he said. It might be a moot point. Bunting and other backers of the plate had been unable to secure the necessary 15,000 signatures and $60,000 fee, thwarting the effort to introduce the Second Amendment plate this year. Reporter Joe Follick can be reached at (850) 222-8382. http://tampatrib.com/floridametronews/MGAP4D9A1XC.html