FL: Legislator Proposes 'Second Amendment' License Plate (update) (11/30/2001)

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Florida Legislator Proposes 'Second Amendment' License Plate By Jim BurnsCNSNews.com Senior Staff WriterNovember 28, 2001(CNSNews.com) - A Florida state legislator has introduced a bill designating a specialty license plate in support of the Second Amendment, which guarantees Americans the right to "keep and bear arms."Proceeds from the license plate sales would fund school programs to teach children about gun safety.Under the bill introduced by Rep. Ken Littlefield (R-Dade City), the specialty license plate would portray a revolutionary war soldier holding a musket and standing with his family against a 13-star American flag. The license plate would include the words "Protect the Second Amendment." "I don't like to raise taxes," Littlefield told CNSNews.com . "We are always looking for additional revenue streams, and there are additional monies available when people purchase specialty plates," he said.Proceeds from the Second Amendment license plate sales would pay for gun safety courses at private and public schools throughout the state of Florida. "A part of that (gun safety) course must be to once again teach our children the value and the sanctity of human life," Littlefield said.Littlefield said the specialty plate is the brainchild of Bill Bunting, who heads a Florida-based Second Amendment club and also serves as an NRA-licensed gun safety instructor.Bunting, writing in the NRA journal "First Freedom," said he's not aware of any Florida schools that currently offer gun safety courses, but he said if Littlefield's bill becomes law, the NRA would be willing to help set up the programs. Littlefield called it a "magnificent thing" for Americans to "celebrate and promote and to honor some of the magnificent freedoms that we have," and he said the Second Amendment guarantees are certainly among the freedoms that need to be underscored.Littlefield isn't optimistic that the bill will be passed this year, but he believes that it could be passed sometime next year.Arthur Hayhoe, executive director of the Florida Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, told the St. Petersburg Times that Littlefield's bill shows the influence of the National Rifle Association. He said the First Amendment doesn't give people the right to mark up license plates and other state property with political statements. "It's just a dumb idea to put controversial political ideas on license plates," Hayhoe said of Littlefield's proposed bill.Florida has 51 specialty license plates. Many promote Florida wildlife, sports teams and tourist attractions. The most controversial plate in recent years is a yellow "Choose Life" plate that opponents portrayed as a pro-life political statement. Supporters said it promotes adoption. http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\200111\CUL20011128d.html