In Florida, we're making it legal to break out your guns in public places.
As a Florida native whose ancestors first came here to murder Native Americans and steal their land, I have mixed feelings about the Sunshine State. Its few remaining wild places are awesomely beautiful, but its people are mostly nuts.
Rush Limbaugh lives here. Clear Channel owns almost half the radio stations in the state. George's dumb brother is governor.
And now we're making it legal to break out the guns on Main Street at Disney World. Gotta love it.
From
The Orlando Sentinel, reg. required:
Floridians could "meet force with force" on the street, in a bar or just about anywhere else without fear of prosecution, under a bill that cleared the state Legislature on Tuesday.
Gov. Jeb Bush said he plans to sign the measure into law, even though opponents contend it amounts to legalized dueling that could lead to simple arguments escalating into fatal fights.
The bill (SB 436), a top priority of the National Rifle Association in Tallahassee this year, won final approval in the House on Tuesday by a 94-20 vote. Two weeks ago, it passed the Senate 39-0.
It would erase what is commonly known as a person's "duty to retreat" from an attack and instead allow that person to "stand his ground" without fear of criminal prosecution or a civil lawsuit, a staff analysis of the bill said. It would take effect Oct. 1.
In Florida, it's okay to kill someone as long as it's inside your house and sometimes inside your car. If you want to kill someone, say, on the sidewalk in front of the local Catholic church, the law says you are obliged to first attempt to back away.
That's about to change. The Sentinel reports the bill's House sponsor, Republican Dennis Baxley, claims the bill will:
allow a person to punch someone if he or she is being punched or to shoot at someone if he or she is being shot at.
So, if you plan to be one of the more than 20 million visitors who will trek here this year, bring your shootin' irons. And maybe your bulletproof vests.
Maybe they'll start selling Mickey Mouse kevlar in the gift shops.