Million Man Permits

 Breakin' rocks in the hot sun
I fought the law and the law won
I needed money 'cause I had none
I fought the law and the law won 
--I Fought the Law, 
The Clash

Pancho was a bandit boy,
his horse was fast as polished steel
He wore his gun outside his pants 
For all the honest world to feel 
--Pancho and Lefty, 
Townes Van Zandt

 The right of the people to keep and bear...
arms shall not be infringed 
--James Madison
 _______________

Florida just issued its millionth Carry Concealed Weapon (CCW) permit, which means it has charged 1,000,000 people $135 each to exercise their constitutional right to carry a weapon.  

For that, they get a laminated card saying they may legitimately tote their guns (independent of the cost for the required class and fingerprints, which are also required.)

Is it even a right if you have to pay for it?  What is next -- Freedom of Speech permits?  CCW's create two classes of citizens -- those who can afford to exercise their constitutional rights, and those who cannot.  Members of one group may pack heat legally, while those in the other are in criminal violation of the law for doing the exact same thing.

If our vaunted Rights are accorded to all citizens, regardless of race, creed or economic level, then why are some rights abridged on any of those criteria?  How is this democratic?

Double Talk

The right of the people to keep and bear arms
shall not be infringed
--James Madison (1789)
___________________

In previous entries, Ranger has compared the fees required to carry a concealed weapon to those of the illegal poll tax which required people to front funds, knowledge or property in order to vote.

Attorney General Holder recently said the Texas's voter ID law, requiring a photo ID from all prospective voters, was the 21st-century equivalent of the illegal poll tax.

The poll taxes of the Jim Crow era were designed to dissuade poor black people from voting in elections, and the Texas law requiring a photo ID from all prospective voters is no different. An estimated 1.4 million Texans, predominantly the lower-income and minority voters who tend to vote Democratic, don’t have a driver’s license or other photo identification. To apply for a voter ID card, Texas requires people to travel to a state office and supply fingerprints and proof of identity, such as a birth certificate—copies of which cost $22. Discouraging people from voting this way is illegal, which is why Holder’s Justice Department rightly blocked this “disgraceful” law back in March. Soon, a federal court will rule whether Texas’s law—and similar laws in a dozen states—violates the Constitution (Voter ID: The Modern Poll Tax).

If a poll tax and photo voter ID requirement infringe upon our franchise -- a guaranteed right of citizenship -- then surely requiring a fee for a CCW permit is the same thing. Forty-nine (49) states allow citizens to carry a concealed weapon, either with or without a permit.

In Florida, the CCW permit costs $135 + fingerprinting fee, plus $100-150 for the required classes prior to application. The total cost to carry a concealed weapon in Florida is about $250. This is unconstitutional as a right can neither be denied nor abridged.

However, neither party will address the issue since both are complicit in its origin and furtherance. The CCW is a hidden tax and therefore a source of revenue. Additionally, neither party wants the lower socioeconomic classes carrying a gun in a de facto recognition of the direness of a life which might drive one into dangerous gun scenarios.

The Democrats wants these people to vote, but not tote; the Republicans would like them to do neither. That is it in a nutshell, but why might that be?

On a personal level, as a retired military officer having commanded three Army Marksmanship Units and Infantry weapons proficient to include sniper qualified, Ranger feels insulted that he is required to buy a permit for the purpose of exercising his right to carry a weapon.

The United States is a nation of conflicting beliefs, laws and emotions. One cannot move with cohesion until the rules are unified and clearly stated.

The Eyes Have It

Hell, this country was founded by religious nuts with guns
--P.J. O'Rourke
______________

Ranger loves guns, guitars, fast cars, dry pants, cold beer, dry toilet paper, and . . . But let's talk guns.

While conducting some bank business, Ranger's banker mentioned a recent patron who did not have any picture identification save for his Florida Carrying Concealed Weapons (CCW) permit. From the banker's perspective there was no problem as this was a valid government-issued picture i.d.

What caught Ranger's undivided attention was that the gun toting subject was legally blind and using a seeing eye dog for mobility. Turns out there are no requirements in the Florida CCW law/application that specify a person must be sighted to carry a concealed weapon. Florida -- The Rules are Different Here.

The law does mandate successful completion of a special course; however, shooting is not a component. In addition, the class requirement may be waived if one has passed the National Rifle Association's Safety Course or if one was handgun-trained in the military. Duh.

So, there is no prohibition against possession of a CCW in Florida if one is blind. Now Ranger loves him some guns, but this is one bridge too far. This legal loophole must be closed, if only for the sake of the dog.

Did Ranger mention the man's dog had only one eye? Ranger reckons that is better than having three legs.