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Second Amendment Foes Spinning Story of Concealed-Carry Application Failure

June 11, 2018 - 1:15pm
Everett Wilkinson
Everett Wilkinson
Anti-gun activists are falsely stating that Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who is running for governor with a strong NRA rating, let thousands of people buy guns illegally while in charge of the Department of Agriculture.
It is false. This failure of an employee did not allow a single gun purchase. It was about allowing licenses to carry concealed weapons. 
 
Anti-gun activists should be ashamed of themselves for promoting fake news. Putnam had less direct management of the neglectful employee than, say, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, when an iPhone is sold with a bad screen. True, when something goes wrong, we all tend to ask: “Who is in charge here?” Yet, isn’t there more to be seen in this instance? Leadership doesn’t mean everything in the ranks will run as it should all the time; but true leadership does resolve problems when they surface.
 
Let’s further examine the facts of the case and what happened:
 
1. An employee of the Department of Agriculture failed to do her job over the course of one year, which was to review 365 applications to carry a concealed firearm that were "red flagged.” 
 
2. The employee never alerted her manager or anyone else that she couldn't log in or that she wasn't doing her job for a year.
 
3. When this was discovered, action was taken and the employee was immediately terminated for neglecting to do her job.
 
4. When the Department of Agriculture found out about the failure of one its employees to review the concealed-carry applications, it immediately reviewed the 365 applications. This resulted in the suspension of 291 of the licenses.
 
5. Not one of the 291 people issued concealed permits were any more able to purchase a firearm with the license, because a concealed weapons permit neither grants nor gives the ability to purchase a firearm.
 
6. Adam Putnam's office did not have any direct management concerning the neglectful employee. 
 
What is real in this instance is the attack on the Second Amendment to make citizens defenseless. Criminals and the mentally insane will never follow laws. We must not leave ourselves unprotected against them. 
 
According to statistics from Florida State University's renown criminologist Dr. Gary Kleck, a gun is used for protection over two million times every year. The concealed-carry gun laws in Florida make criminals think twice before committing crimes. Citizens need to wake up and realize that the Liberal Left will do anything to take away your gun rights.
 
Unfortunately, we can’t count on our police to fully protect us. The Parkland school shooting is an example in which the FBI and local law enforcement were alerted over 30 times that this person was a danger. The Texas church shooting was stopped by an armed citizen, and an armed guard stopped a recent school shooting in Maryland. 
 
America was founded on the idea of people being able to “pursue happiness,” and that includes the security of onesself and one’s property. It is why our wise Founding Fathers included the “right to bear arms" as a constitutional and irrevocable right for all. If our Second Amendment rights are infringed upon, we should logically assume that all of our rights can be erased by our government to “protect us.”
 
Together we stand and we will not fall for fake news prompting infringement of our rights.
 
Everett Wilkinson is chair of the National Liberty Federation.

Comments

"It is why our wise Founding Fathers included the 'right to bear arms' as a constitutional and irrevocable right for all. If our Second Amendment rights are infringed upon, we should logically assume that all of our rights can be erased by our government to 'protect us'." A common misunderstanding is that our inherent rights are granted to us by our Constitution. I agree that if our Constitution grants us our rights then our government can erase them. But, our Constitution doesn't grant us our rights but protects our rights which are given by our Creator. Our Founding Fathers understood this. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed".

The same for Desantis, the George Soros slander machines are in full effect here in Florida!! Putnam or Desantis are GREAT choices for my/our Governor!!

what if they already had their guns?...gee Wally, we didn't think of that...

This was about carrying concealed NOT buying guns. Did you read the article...you may be able to purchase a firearm but not carry concealed..

If they are red flagged for concealed carry, they woul be red flagged on a purchase. Your point is moot.

Not so. All of my Firearms have been purchased legally in Florida. I had several in my home legally before I decided to apply for my license. I now carry every day but many I know with the same license on their persons do not. I have gained two benefits from having my License. One is that I can carry concealed anywhere that is lawful for me to do so. The other is that upon approval from the State which in most cases takes 15 minutes, I can walk out of the shop with my new purchase the same day. Unlicensed buyers have to wait three days.

If they had them already when they were erroneously granted the CCW, what would they need to buy dumbass? Geez the trailer parks need help...

Not once was jihad mentioned in this article.

correction Blaming Gun Violence on the Mentally Ill Is Easy, but Ignorant Vast Majority of Mentally Ill Will Never Be Violent Trump blamed mental illness for the tragic loss of life in Oregon. “This isn’t guns; this is about mental illness,” the leading GOP presidential candidate said on ABC’s “This Week.” “You have sick people in this country and throughout the world, and you’re always going to have difficulty.” Oliver cited “one study that found that fewer than 5 percent of 120,000 gun-related killings were committed by people diagnosed with mental illness.” “You’re far more likely to be shot by your neighbor or your cousin or disgruntled brother-in-law than by some crazed stranger,” said Metzl, the study’s lead author. What does predict gun violence? A history of violent behavior, a history of childhood abuse, substance use at the time of an emotionally charged event and the availability of a firearm are all better risk indicators for violent behavior than psychiatric diagnoses. Making the mentally ill scapegoats for gun violence may be convenient, but it’s flat-out wrong and won’t make anyone safer.

Heck, former AG Eric Holder under Barack Hussein Obama sold firearms to the Mexican drug cartels (Operation Fast and Furious). The buck stops at the top and Barack should have been prosecuted for gun running to criminal gangs.

knew it wouldn't take long to somehow be Obama's fault...too funny jackasses...

Nope. He did not say it was "Obama's fault". He INFERRED -- correctly -- that if this is PUTNAM's fault, then it is also Obama's fault for Holders F&F operation, Learner's IRS misuse, the FBI's illegal surveillance, Hillary's illegal e-mail server... And yet no one is pointing fingers at him for ANY of these scandals. But hey, double standards are whapos hypocrite liberals are all about, right...?

Everything rises and falls on leadership. So, Putnam's reaction to this situation is far more better than that of Obama, Clinton, Holder, Lerner, etc., etc., etc., on a standard of accountability. The left always lies to cover their stupidity and will stumble all over themselves to cover their wrong. When our republicans screw up and lie, it doesn't look any better and, quite frankly, is very embarrassing and hurtful to the conservative cause.

only a true wingnut would think hiding this for a year and only responding once it was made public as a better response... This guy is an ass clown, that shouldn't even be running the farm, let alone this state, but you fools are probably from NY anyway, so what does it matter...just a pit stop, or trailer stop...classic.

Only an elitist leftist would make horrible generalizations of your political opponents. I have been and continue to be on Team Putnam. He will be an excellent Governor.

I'm sure most of your trailer park feels the same way too...

Long Live King TRUMP

the supreme dictator...

Wow, you libtards are so detached from any semblance... Even the slightest... of touch with REALITY.

must be all the fake news...derrr, Hannity for VP!...classic.

It has to be ALLLLLLL that pot,

It doesn't matter whether Adam Putnam's office had any direct management concerning the neglectful employee. It happened in a department under his purview. The buck stops at the top. Governors don't abdicating responsibility! Anyone who would would not make a good governor.

That is so true!

Keep digging that NRA hole deeper. It's Gwen Graham's time. Florida and all Floridians need her. We have had enough.

Hahahaha!

In your dreams.

Send Putnam to D.C. and get him out of Florida's hair once and for all! He'll fit right in with the "experts" managing the affairs of the current president and his administration! (This guy's been on the public dole in Florida since 1996 ... when he was 22 years old! He's a friggin' lifer!)

Yeah, so's Nelson. You voting him out of office?

Putnam did nothing... This only came to light after it was reported by the Feds and the IG investigated. An Office of Inspector General report from June 2017 --- obtained by the Times in a public records request --- said that between February 2016 and March 2017, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services didn’t access an FBI crime database called the National Instant Criminal Background Check System because an employee was unable to log into the system. Putnam’s office told the Times that the employee was “immediately terminated” after another employee discovered the situation and that every application potentially impacted was “thoroughly reviewed.” The lack of background checks is an “example of gross neglect” and cited part of the Times story that said the now-fired employee had been promoted from the mailroom to be in charge of database checks. “Why only one mailroom employee would be left to handle a job that is critical to the safety of all citizens is jaw-dropping,” Yes, it is... Even if Putnam did not have direct involvement in the day to day management of the employee. To allow a system like this to exist is at best, extremely poor management and oversight, at worst, negligence. You can try to spin it any way you want, but those are the facts...

According to the TB Times? Not exactly the paper it used to be when it was the SP Times (one of the best papers in America). Heavy liberal influence from the revenue beggars at the paper. Too bad they now influence more of the news content than the outstanding reporters and editors at the Times. What a shame to see this good paper rot into the hands of the creeps in sales. So much for the separation of news and sales.

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