any person using weapons or firearms in violation of sections 790.07 through 790.24, Florida Statutes; (b) Vagrants and other undesirable persons as dofined in section 856.02, Florida Statutos; (o) A person in or about a place of nuisance as defined in section 823.05, Florida Statutes, unless such person shall be there for law enforcement or some other lawful purpose. (3) Exceptions. The provisions of ecctions 790.05 and 790.06, Florida Statutes, shall not apply in the following instances, and despite caid scotions it shall be lawful for the following persons to own, possess, and lawfully use firearms and other weapons, ammunition, and supplies for lawful purposes: (a) Members of the militia, national guard, Florida state guard, army, navy, air forco, narine corps, coast guard, the organized reserves, and other armed forces of the state and of the United States, when on duty, or whon training or preparing themselves for military duty, or while subject to recall or mobilization; (b) Citizens of Florida subject to duty in the armed forces under Article XIV, constitution of Florida, and chapters 250 and 251, Florida Statutes, and under federal laws, when on duty, or when training or preparing thonselves for military duty; (o) Persons carrying cut or training for civil de fense duties under chapter 252, Florida Statutes; (d) Sheriffs, marshals, prison or jail wardens, constables, policemen, Florida highway patrolmen, game wardens, revenue officers, forest officials, special officers appointed under the provisions of chapter 354, Florida Statutes, and other peace and law enforcement officers, their deputies and assistants, full-time paid peace officers of other states and of the federal government who are carrying out official duties while in Morida. (e) Officers or employees of the state or United States duly authorized to carry a concealed weapon; (1) Guards or messengers of common carriors, oxpress companies, armored car carriors, mail carriers, banks, and other financial inel tuutone, while Letually employed in and about the shipment, transportation, or delivery of any money, treasure, bullion, bonds, or other thing of value within this stute; (g) Rogularly enrolled hvors of any orsulaation duly authorized to purchase of rocoivo woeptas 2xl the United States or from this stato, or regularly rolled members of clubs organised for banget, skeet, or tamp shooting, while at, or going to or from shooting panctie0; or regularly enrolled members of clube organized por modern or antique ZircUBLE CO are at or going to or from the conventions, or exhibits; oving, while such members collectors' gun shows, (h) A person while ongegod in fishing, cuping, 02 lawful hunting, or while going to or returning from a fishing, camping, or lawful hunting expedition; (1) A person engaged in the business of manufacturing, repairing, or dealing in fimoarls, or the agent or representative of any such person while engaged in the lawful course of suck business; (1) A person firing weapons for testing or target practice under safe conditions and in a safe place not prohibited by law, or while going to or from said place; 827 3 (k) A person firing weapons in a safe and secure indoor range for testing and target practico; (1) Any person traveling by privato conveyance when the weapon is securely encased, or 12 public convoyance when the weapon is securely elected and not in persons manual possession; (m) Any person while carrying a pistol unloaded and in a secure wrapper, concealed or otherwise, from the place of purchase to his hone or place of business, or to a place of repair or back to his home or place of business; (n) A person possessing as at his home or place of business; (4) Construction. This act thall bo liburtily oonstrued to carry out the decla quion of polley both l in favor of the constitution for lawful purposes. This act shall be cuppichonal and additional to existing rights to boar arac now gulranteLA by law and decisions of the cult of Florida, nothing herein shall impair or dininich any of mch rights. Whis act shall supersede any law, shuinanco, -egulation conflict herewith. Section 2. This act shall take offoot July 2, 1900. Became a law without the Governor's approval. Filed in Office Secretary of State Himal Firearms and Freedom By JAMES E. EDWARDS One of my neighbors had a flat tire on a lonely Florida highway. He had to scare off a carful of drunken men by firing a pistol over their heads, and thus saved his wife and children from a vicious attack. An unarmed Palm Beach attorney was attacked in his office by a crazed divorce defendant, who slashed the lawyer's throat with a razor, and likewise slashed the throat of the estranged wife. Hitler, Mao Tze Tung, and Castro seized weapons so they could bind a helpless people with hellish dictatorship. Today we have people scheming to disarm the populace against such attacks. Far worse, they want laws which will make it easy for communists to disarm us and topple the Republic into ruin and slavery. Anyone who tries to disarm lawabiding Americans against thieves, rapists, murderers, socialists, and communists has already formed a vicious criminal intent. 1. THE PROBLEM How to curb the use of firearms in crime and protect the civil rights of law-abiding citizens, under state and federal constitutions, to defend law, life, liberty, property, home, and country. 2. DISCUSSION According to chapter 16 of the Book of Judges, Delilah and the Philistines when his hair was cut. armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace." Samson was overcome by A. WHAT ARE THE PURPOSES OF THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS? (1) For the individual to defend life, family, home, and property; (2) to assist public authorities in the enforcement of law, as by the posse comitatus; (3) to defend the state and nation against foreign attack; (4) for arms practice and marksmanship, licensed hunting, and other lawful purposes. PHONY DISARMAMENT SCHEMES are the goal of communists to strip o nation. of weapons, just as phony gun licensing and registration schemes strip us of personal firearms. Patriots will reject these traps and protect freedom. 1/65 51-635 65 pt. 26 In England the knights and free men were not only allowed, but required, to keep arms for service in war, as, for example, by the Assise of Arms of 1181, mentioned in G. B. Adams, "Constitutional History of England" (1921), page 117. Later, there were struggles between Catholics and Protestants, with repressive laws being directed first at one group, and then the other. For example, the Bill of Rights of 1689, under William and Mary, complained of protestants being "disarmed" and guaranteed that "protestants may have aras for their defence." Amos J. Peasles, "Constitutions of Nations" (1950), III:314. The need for national defense is stronger today than ever, with Florida infiltrated by Castro agents and terrorists, and Florida's tip only 90 miles away from communist Cuba, "where the people are kept in subjugation by a minority of militant Castro followers who have control of all the arms", according to Doctor (of laws) Fernando Penabaz, Latin-American columnist, who formerly practiced law in Cuba, Fort Lauderdale News, December 8, 1961, page 3-C. This is no time for anyone to suggest arms curbs and limitations. Instead, patriots should demand weapons training and drill for every able-bodied citizen. ARMS? B. DID THE U. S. CONSTITUTION GRANT THE PEOPLE THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR By the American Revolution the people seized all the power of government, including the absolute right to keep arms. Arms Right Pre-dated Constitution "The right to bear arms", according to the Florida Supreme Court, "existed long before the adoption of the Federal Constitution... was not granted by it nor was it in any manner dependent on that instrument for its existence. All the Second Amendment means is that the right to bear arms shall not be infringed by Congress." Watson v. Stone, 4 So.2d 700 (1941). (Citing three U.S. Supreme Court cases.) Bill of Rights Our Founding Fathers wisely protected the freedom to keep and bear arms. The U. S. Constitution of 1789, Bill of Rights, Second Amendment, says: "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 Constitution of 1885, Declaration of Rights, Section 20, declares: "Right to bear arms.-The right of the people to bear arms in defence of themselves, and the lawful authority of the State, shall not be infringed, but the Legislature may prescribe the manner in which they may be borne." C. DO COMMUNISTS AND FASCISTS WANT ANTI-GUN LAWS? Yes. The arch-communist Lenin said: "Revolution . . . is an act in which one section of the population imposes its will on the other by means of rifles, bayonets, cannon, ... and the victorious party is inevitably forced to maintain its supremacy by means of that fear which its arms inspire.. "Quoted in Am. Bar Assn. booklet on "Communism: Marxism-Leninism", Sept. 1951, page 10. Today some well-meaning persons, egged on by communists, are trying to disarm the United States of heavy weapons and disarm the citizens through restrictive gun laws. Thus, the "Rules for Revolution" of communists in 1919 included, "cause the registration of all firearms on some pretext, with a view to confiscating them and leaving the population helpless", as reported by George A. Brautigan, former State Attorney, Miami. Communists Want All the Guns "Communists admitted during a Dade County investigation of their activities several years ago they were under instructions 'to do everything humanly possible to get any kind of a gun law passed there and in the rest of the United States", according to George Okell, Jr., Miami attorney, Fort Lauderdale News, March 6, 1962. Communists Disarmed Chinese In China "the communists set about to disarm the people completely. Great rewards were given to those who could tell where weapons were hidden, and the rush to deliver concealed weapons began," according to Dr. Fred Salwars, "You Can Trust the Communists (to be Communists)" (Prentice-Hall 1960), page 99. D. SHOULD GUNS BE REGISTERED WITH STATE OR FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS? Definite ly NO. Oun registration laws are bad because (1) they discourage firearms ownership by law-abiding citizens, but are evaded by communists and other orizirals, (2) are used by dictators to disarm the people and arm only the dictator's gangs of hoodlums, and (3) create more bureaucratic expense and higher taxes. |