For a group of people who swear the Second Amendment isn't treated like a second-class right, anti-gunners sure love to try to keep adults under 21 from exercising that totally not a second-class right.
And Florida bought into that for a while.
However, that whole notion just got a bit of a setback:
A Broward County judge has ruled that Florida’s ban on adults under 21 carrying concealed firearms is unconstitutional — a decision that could set up a broader legal battle over gun rights for young adults.
The ruling stems from the arrest of 19-year-old Joel Walkes III, who was charged after an officer found him carrying a concealed firearm when his car broke down on a Plantation roadway.
Circuit Judge Frank Ledee sided with Walkes, saying the state’s age restriction violated constitutional rights.
Which, of course, it does.
Under federal law, adults under 21 cannot lawfully purchase a handgun from a licensed gun dealer, but there's no bar on them owning handguns in and of themselves. Many receive them as gifts, for example, so they have them and are lawful handgun owners.
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But until now, they couldn't carry a firearm concealed in Florida. Again, that whole "second-class right" thing.
Not everyone is fond of this, though:
“It is terrible. Of course it’s terrible,” said Patricia Oliver, whose son Joaquin was among the Parkland victims. “We are in danger. Florida is in danger.”
“What happened in all these seven and a half years from 2018 to today,” asked Oliver. “Now it’s less dangerous? Now we have less issues with gun violence? That is not true. We’ve been having more and more shootings every single day.”
Not mentioned is that Patricia Oliver and her husband, Manuel, are the sick puppies who thought it would be swell to use an AI version of their dead son in an interview with former CNN "journalist" and Trump whipping boy Jim Acosta. It wasn't their first time using AI to try and advance an anti-gun agenda, previously having used the technology to call lawmakers and try to make them feel guilty about not bending the knee to gun control advocates.
Oh, and Manuel Oliver is also the anti-gun guy who got kicked out of an event at the White House celebrating an anti-gun executive order signed by Joe Biden. To say these folks are unhinged is to put it mildly. Their take on literally anything is irrelevant.
The truth is that our rights are not dependent on crime statistics, especially considering the vast majority of shootings happening in Florida or elsewhere aren't carried out by lawful gun owners in the first place.
But anti-gun zealots like the Olivers never even hint at that. They present everything as if all gun owners are the same.
Pro-tip: If someone wants to shoot someone else, the lack of a means to lawfully carry a firearm concealed isn't going to be the deal breaker. "I really, really want to commit murder, but I can't carry a handgun because I'm only 20. Oh well, maybe next year," said no murderer ever.
