BELLEVUE, WA – The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has once again “inserted foot firmly in mouth” in its reaction to proposed legislation in Florida that would allow citizens to keep firearms in their cars at their places of employment, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today.
Brady Campaign spokesman Zach Ragbourn told the Daytona Beach News Journal that his organization opposes passage of such a law because, “What’s dangerous is having people in the state capital make that decision in advance about every kind of worker in every kind of situation.”
“For years,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb in response, “the Brady Campaign has been working feverishly on one-size-fits-all gun control schemes at the state and national level. Now all of a sudden, they don’t think it’s a good idea for Florida lawmakers to pass a reform measure that protects the rights of gun owners.”
The proposed statute, supported by various gun rights groups, would prevent citizens from being fired from their jobs for having a firearm in their vehicle in a company parking lot. Proponents say this is a sensible proposal that assures legally-licensed citizens their right of self-protection while driving to and from work, or from one job to another.
“The Brady Campaign never thought it was wrong to support nationwide bans on certain firearms, or ‘dangerous’ to promote concealed carry prohibitions, which leave citizens defenseless against attacks in public,” Gottlieb said. “The gun control lobby has never opposed blanket restrictions on gun ownership, but now they’re in hysterics about a blanket proposal that strengthens the privacy rights of law-abiding citizens.
“Of course,” Gottlieb added, “hypocrisy and doublespeak are the cornerstones of the gun control lobby. When they can’t push their agenda at the national level, they shift gears and claim that ‘local control’ is best. When their demagoguery fails in the legislative arena, they ask the courts to legislate from the bench. They have tried to disguise their gun control and gun ban packages as ‘gun safety’ measures. Ultimately, the only thing they’re selling is victim vulnerability and the surrender of civil rights, and the public isn’t buying.”