Agenda 02/26/2013 Item #10E2/26/2013 10.E.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Recommendation to adopt a Resolution in support of the Second Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States.
OBJECTIVE: To pass a resolution formally declaring support of the Second Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States.
CONSIDERATIONS: During the Public Comments portion of the February 12, 2013 Board of
County Commissioners meeting, county citizens came forward and requested that the Board pass
a resolution in support of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which
states: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the
People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." The Florida State Constitution in Article 1,
Section 8 provides similarly: "The right of the people to keep and bear arms in defense of
themselves and of the lawful authority of the state shall not be infringed, except that the manner
of bearing arms may be regulated by law."
There is concern among some citizens that the current President and members of Congress may
issue executive orders, laws and regulations that will effectively infringe upon the right to keep
and bear arms. As members of the Board of County Commissioners we have each sworn an oath
to support the Constitution of the United States and the State of Florida; the proposed resolution
affirms that support.
FISCAL IMPACT: None.
GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACT: None.
LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: The proposed Resolution was drafted by the County Attorney,
is legally sufficient, and requires majority support for approval. - JAK
RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of County Commissioners adopt the proposed
Resolution formally declaring its support of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the
United States.
SUBMITTED BY: Commissioner Tom Henning, District 3
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COLLIER COUNTY
Board of County Commissioners
Item Number: 10.10.E.
Item Summary: Recommendation to adopt a Resolution in support of the Second
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. (Commissioner Henning)
Meeting Date: 2/26/2013
Prepared By
Name: BrockMaryJo
Title: Executive Secretary to County Manager, CMO
2/20/2013 10:46:57 AM
Submitted by
Title: Executive Secretary to County Manager, CMO
Name: BrockMaryJo
2/20/2013 10:46:58 AM
Approved By
Name: OchsLeo
Title: County Manager
Date: 2/20/2013 11:21:18 AM
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RESOLUTION NO. 2013 -
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA, FORMALLY DECLARING ITS
SUPPORT OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE UNITED STATES.
WHEREAS, the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides: "A
well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the People to keep
and bear arms shall not be infringed;" and
WHEREAS, Article I, Section 8 to the Constitution of the State of Florida provides: "The
right of the people to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves and of the lawful authority of the
state shall not be infringed, except that the manner of bearing arms may be regulated by law;" and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in recent years has twice upheld the Second
Amendment as applying to individuals' right to keep and bear arms (District of Columbia v
Heller, 128 S. Ct. 2783 (2008) and McDonald v Chicago, 130 S. Ct. 3020 (2010) ); and
WHEREAS, each and every member of the Board of County Commissioners has as a
condition of Office sworn an oath that they "will support the Constitution of the United States and
of the State of Florida;" and
WHEREAS, the President and Vice President of the United States, as well as members of
Congress, have been reported recently to be considering adopting laws, regulations or actions
which would have the effect of infringing on the right of Americans to keep and bear arms; and
WHEREAS, the reasons given in support of such infringements as gun registration,
banning certain kinds of weapons and accessories, requiring extreme background checks,
restricting the bearing of arms such as excessive restrictions on concealed carry and possibly other
restrictions, have not been shown by the substantial weight of scientific evidence to have been
effective in accomplishing the stated objectives of such restrictions as compelling necessities for
government action to protect the public safety.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS OF COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA, that the Board formally declares its
continued support of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; that we
hereby affirm that we will not assist, support, or condone any unconstitutional infringement of that
right; and that we call upon the Governor and the Florida Legislature to lawfully use all of its
powers to resist or overturn any federal gun control measure that violates the right of the people of
this State and of Collier County to keep and bear arms; and
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be transmitted to the Clerk of the
Senate and House of Representatives of the Florida Legislature, and the Governor.
THIS RESOLUTION ADOPTED after motion, second and majority vote on this the
day of , 2013.
ATTEST:
DWIGHT E. BROCK, Clerk
By:
Deputy Clerk
and legal sufficiency:
Jeffrey All KI' tz ow, County Attorney
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA
LIM
GEORGIA A. HILLER, ESQ.
CHAIRWOMAN
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A i i v t 5
HM 545 2013
1 House Memorial
2 A memorial to the United States Congress and the
3 President of the United States, urging Congress and
4 the President to protect the constitutional right of
5 the people to keep and bear arms.
6
7 WHEREAS, the Second Amendment to the Unites States
8 Constitution and Section 8, Article I of the State Constitution
9 protect an individual's right to keep and bear arms, and
10 WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States has found
11 that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to
12 possess any bearable arms commonly used for lawful purposes, and
13 WHEREAS, the President of the United States has made clear
14 his intent to urge Congress to pass legislation that would
15 restrict the lawful acquisition and possession of firearms and
16 ban many firearms commonly used for self - defense, hunting,
17 competition, and target shooting, and
18 WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States has
19 recognized that the principles of separate sovereignty, as
20 embodied in the Tenth Amendment to the Unites States
21 Constitution, prohibit the Federal Government from requiring the
22 state or its officers to take part in any federal gun control
23 scheme, and
24 WHEREAS, it is the duty of the Legislature to exercise all
25 of its lawful authority and power to protect the right of the
26 people of this state to keep and bear arms, NOW, THEREFORE,
27
28 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F
HM 545
2/26/2013 10. E.
R E P R E S E N T A I I V t 5
2013
29
30 That it is the sense of the Legislature that the proposals
31 of the President of the United States to restrict the arms
32 available to law- abiding citizens violate the United States
33 Constitution and that the Legislature, on behalf of the
34 government and citizens of the state, hereby notifies the
35 Congress and the President that it intends to lawfully use all
36 of its authority and power to resist or overturn any federal gun
37 control measure that violates the right of the people of this
38 state to keep and bear arms.
39 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
40 dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
41 President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
42 United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
43 the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.
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Florida Sheriffs Association
Proclamation 2023 -1
Support of Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
WHEREAS, the Florida Constitution in Article Vill, Section 1 (d), created the Office of the
Sheriff and invested the Sheriff with certain powers necessary to carry out his or her duties
to serve and protect the public; and
WHEREAS, Sheriffs are charged with the public trust and are sworn to uphold the
Constitution of the United States, which guarantees the right to bear arms; and
WHEREAS, the Second Amendment to the United Sates Constitution assures the right of
the people to keep and bear arms; and
WHEREAS, Florida Sheriffs have continually supported the rights guaranteed under the
Constitution of the United States, including the right to bear arms, and Florida Sheriffs
affirm they will not assist, support, or condone any unconstitutional infringement of that
right;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT PROCLAIMED, that on this 291 day of January 2013 at the
Winter Conference in Destin, Florida, the Florida Sheriffs Association publicly
acknowledges and reiterates its support for the rights provided by the Second Amendment
to the United States Constitution.
FLORIDA SHERIFFS ASSOCIATION:
Sheriff Susan Benton
President
ATTEST
Steve Casey
Executive Director
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TTH�E�NATIONAL JOUFNiU
ALM Properties, Inc.
Page printed from: http:11www.n1i.com
Back to Article
Post - Newtown gun legislation will hinge on 'Heller'
Marcia Coyle
The National Law Journal
12 -17 -2012
If Congress opens a serious debate on new federal restrictions on firearms in the wake of the Newtown school shootings, the
U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Second Amendment decision will be fodder for proponents and opponents.
Not surprisingly, both sides in the gun control debate, at loggerheads for decades, disagree on how much room the 2008 District
of Columbia v. Hellerdecision offers for new regulations, particularly of the assault -type rifle used to kill 20 children and six adults
on December 14.
However, they do agree that it is only a matter of time before the Supreme Court steps back into Second Amendment debates,
which currently are playing out in litigation around the country over various state and local gun regulations.
The Hellerdecision offers "a lot of room" for Congress to act, said Jon Lowy, director of the Legal Action Project of the Brady
Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
"The Supreme Court was clear in Hel/erthat while law- abiding, responsible citizens have the right to a gun in the home for self
defense, there is a wide variety of sensible gun laws that remain constitutional," explained Lowy. "Assault weapons and
background checks for all gun sales and other sensible restrictions would clearly be permitted by the Second Amendment."
A proposal to ban so- called assault weapons, such as promised recently by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D- Calif.), would raise
"serious problems" under Heller, countered David Kopel, research director of the Independence Institute, who was part of the
legal team challenging the District of Columbia's gun restrictions in the Heller case.
"The Second Amendment does protect weapons typically possessed by law- abiding citizens for lawful purposes," he said.
"There's just a matter of logic here. These [assault] guns are cosmetically different but not functionally different; they fire one
bullet every time pressed, just like any normal gun."
The gun used in the Newtown school shootings was the AR -15, "one of the most popular firearms in the U.S. these days," he
added. "It probably outsells every other model. Is it occasionally misused in crimes? Yes, but certainly at a lower rate than
handguns as a class are misused in crimes. Therefore, He /lerappears to forbid a ban on such guns."
In Heller, a 5 -4 majority, led by Justice Antonin Scalia, held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a
gun unconnected with service in a militia, and to use the gun for traditionally lawful purposes, such as in the home for self defense.
The decision invalidated the District of Columbia's handgun ban — considered the strictest in the nation — and its requirement
that firearms kept in the home be disassembled or have a trigger lock.
However, the majority also said the Second Amendment right is not unlimited, and gave examples of some limits.
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"From Blackstone through the 19th- century cases, commentators and courts routinely explained that the right was not a right to
keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose," wrote Scalia. "For example, the
majority of the 19th- century courts to consider the question held that prohibitions on carrying concealed weapons were lawful
under the Second Amendment or state analogues."
Nothing in the Hellerruling, he said, should be read to cast doubt on "longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by
felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government
buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms."
Another "important limitation," explained Scalia, was contained in the justices' 1939 decision in Miller v. U.S. "Millersaid, as we
have explained, that the sorts of weapons protected were those 'in common use at the time.' We think that limitation is fairly
supported by the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of 'dangerous and unusual weapons,'" he wrote. Based on Miller,
the Second Amendment does not protect weapons not typically possessed by law- abiding citizens for lawful purposes, such as
short- barreled shotguns, he added.
The federal assault weapons ban, enacted in 1994, expired in 2004. That law had two bans: one on assault guns — and another
on high - capacity magazines holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Feinstein, the sponsor of the 1994 law, said her latest
proposal will again ban both.
"Even before Heller, there were assault weapons bans challenged both on Second Amendment grounds and state right -to -bear
arms provisions, and the bans were upheld," said Lowy of the Brady Center. "Connecticut, which has an assault weapon ban,
does not ban high - capacity magazines."
But Kopel said the Second Amendment protects firearm accessories that pass the Hellertest as well as firearms. He noted that
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is advocating a ban on magazines holding more than 10 rounds.
"About three - quarters of all handguns sold in the U.S. today are semi - automatic as opposed to revolvers," said Kopel. "A great
many modern semi - automatics have magazines which hold between 11 and 19 rounds. These would also seem to pass the
Hellertest because they are commonly used by law- abiding citizens for lawful purposes and extremely common."
Magazines of 30 to 40 rounds are also commonly possessed for rifles, he said, and 50 -round magazines for rifles or 35 rounds
for handguns also are "overwhelmingly" possessed by law- abiding citizens for lawful purposes, although not as "ubiquitous."
The language in Millerabout "commonly used by law- abiding citizens for lawful purposes," is not entirely clear, acknowledged
Kopel. Must the weapon be popular and commonly used by law- abiding citizens for lawful purposes, or just mainly used for lawful
purposes, he said. But he said he would argue that all of the different magazine rounds pass the Hellertest.
Last October in a speech before the Brady Center, retired Justice John Paul Stevens weighed in on Hel/erand recent shootings
"Even though a sawed -off shotgun or a machine gun might well be kept at home and be useful for self- defense," he said, "neither
machine guns nor sawed -off shotguns satisfy the 'common use' requirement. Thus, even as generously construed in Heller, the
Second Amendment provides no obstacle to regulations prohibiting the ownership or use of the sorts of automatic weapons used
in the tragic multiple killings in Virginia, Colorado and Arizona in recent years. The failure of Congress to take any action to
minimize the risk of similar tragedies in the future cannot be blamed on the Court's decision in Heller."
The Supreme Court has passed up opportunities to revisit the Second Amendment since its last pronouncement in McDonald v.
City of Chicago in 2010. That decision applied the Second Amendment to the states.
Since then, courts have been "all over the place" in their analyses of state and local gun regulations under challenge, said Alan
Gura of Gura & Possessky, who successfully argued the Hellerand McDonald cases in the Supreme Court.
"Right now there are a variety of Second Amendment disputes working their way up to the Supreme Court," said Gura. "We're
having conflicting opinions by appellate courts on the extent to which local governments can regulate the carrying of guns outside
the home for self defense."
Last week, a 2 -1 panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit struck down Illinois' statewide ban on carrying
concealed weapons. A unanimous Second Circuit panel last month upheld New York's law requiring individuals to demonstrate a
special need to carry a concealed weapon in order to get a permit.
Gura is involved in both cases and said he intends to file a petition for review of the Second Circuit decision in the Supreme Court.
"It doesn't have that much immediate relevance to what happened in Connecticut," he said.
The Brady Center's Lowy noted there are cases involving restrictions on the carrying of guns in public now pending in the Fourth
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Ninth, Seventh, First and Tenth circuits. "Within the next few months, when those decisions come down, we'll have a much better
sense of whether there is serious disagreement among the circuits," said Lowy.
Gura said the disagreement over the scope of the Second Amendment should not be portrayed as between those who care
about what happened in Newtown and those who are oblivious to it.
"I agree with the president that something should be done to stop this madness," said Gura. "We may disagree about what it is
that should be done. There is consensus we need to do something so that this is less likely to occur."
Marcia Coyle can be contacted at mcovle@alm.com.
Copyright 2013. ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved.
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From: KlatzkowJeff
Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 9:45 AM
To: KlatzkowJeff
Subject: FW: 2nd Amendment Resolutions submitted to MI City Council
and Collier
Bd of Commissioners
- - - -- Original Message---- -
From: HenningTom
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 7:00 AM
To: KlatzkowJeff
Subject: FW: 2nd Amendment Resolutions submitted to MI City Council and
Collier Bd of Commissioners
From: Keith Flaugh [koflaugh @me.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 6:39 PM
To: JLytle @Naplesnews.com
Cc: BBatten @Naplesnews.com; plewis @naplesnews.com; Green, Bill
Subject: 2nd Amendment Resolutions submitted to MI City Council and
Collier Bd
of Commissioners
Hi Jeff, I suspect you may not be the right person at NDN to send this
to,
but I have copied several of your associates, so if not you or them,
would you
be so kind as to get it to the right person.
1) Attached are two resolutions on the 2nd Amendment to stop federal
overreach. One is to Marco Island City Council Resolution (presented Feb
4 for
final vote on Feb 19 and a second presented today to Collier County Bd.
of
Commissioners for a final vote on Feb 26). Both passed the initial hurdle
with
a consensus vote and will be on their next Agenda for a final vote. These
resolutions were patterned after Beaufort County NC's unanimous
Resolution to
the NC Governor and Legislature passed Jan 18.
2) Attached is The Florida Sheriff's Association Proclamation of Jan 29
actually 8 states and 279 sheriffs so far have come out very strongly
declaring that they will stop Federal overreach on the 2nd Amendment for
any
law or Presidential executive orders that infringes on the 2nd Amendment
rights of the people.
3) Attached is the digital version of the House Memorial sent to me by
Rep
Matt Hudson. I am sending this to all the City Council and Collier County
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Commissioners. In my opinion, it certainly lends grassroots credence to
the
appropriateness of our City Council and County Commissioners signing
their
respective Resolutions and providing positive encouragement for Florida
Legislature and Governor Scott to do the same. Specific legislation would
be
preferable but it is an 18 month cycle so this is at least a step in the
right
direction.
4) Here is the Fox 4 link to an interview prompted by The Marco Island
City
Council fireworks by several Councilors on Feb 4.
http: / /www.fox4now.com /news /local /190282341.html
5)Chief Don Hunter and Sheriff Rambosk have agreed to a Town hall
Meeting ,
sponsored by the SWFL Citizens" Alliance at the Marco Presbyterian Church
7 pm
on Feb 26. This will be hosted by our new coalition " SWFL Citizens'
Alliance"
and will include a Law enforcement panel discussion with Citizens of
Collier
as wells as an education session by Constitutional Scholar KrisAnne Hall.
. I
will get you a flyer tomorrow, but it will include Constitutional Scholar
KrisAnne Hall and the moderator will be Bob Harden, SWFL well -known Radio
Commentator.
Major efforts by our Alliance team are occurring in Lee County as well.
Please call if you would like more information.
Keith
Keith 239 - 250 -3320
Under Florida Law, e -mail addresses are public records. If you do not
want
your e -mail address released in response to a public records request, do
not
send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by
telephone or in writing.
Under Florida Law, e -mail addresses are public records. If you do not
want
your e -mail address released in response to a public records request, do
not
send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by
telephone or in writing.
Under Florida Law, e -mail addresses are public records. If you do not
want
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your e -mail address released in response to a public records request, do
not
send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by
telephone or in writing.
Under Florida Law, e -mail addresses are public records. If you do not
want
your e -mail address released in response to a public records request, do
not
send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by
telephone or in writing.
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