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Scott Signs Bill To Restrict Mentally Ill From Buying Guns
June 29, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott defended his support for the Second Amendment as he signed a narrowly-focused firearms bill into law Friday, making it harder for the mentally ill to buy guns.
The measure, which has gotten caught in a cross-fire among gun rights groups, was one of 46 bills signed into law on Friday. The bill (HB 1355) blocks firearms purchases by some people who voluntarily admit themselves for mental-health treatment.
In a letter accompanying the bill signing, Scott noted that the measure was the product of mental health and second amendment advocates, while he also highlighted his history of support for gun rights.
“During the 2012 GOP Convention, I was asked to issue a temporary executive order to override laws that allow people to carry concealed weapons, which I denied because it was unclear how disarming law-abiding citizens would better protect them from the damages and threats posed by those who would flout the law,” Scott wrote. “Additionally, I’ve signed legislation protecting the privacy of firearm owners and stopping local governments from overreaching in the regulation of firearms.”
For a governor who has struggled with approval rating, how the move will play with thousands of individuals who have sent in opposition to the law remains to be seen.
The bill was crafted in the wake of 20 children and six adults being gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
A Rasmussen poll released on Dec. 19, 2012, the week after the shooting, found 48 percent of Americans believed more action to treat mental health issues would do the most to prevent such shootings, with 27 percent saying stricter gun control laws would do the most.
The bill, backed by the National Rifle Association and Unified Sportsmen of Florida, moved through the Legislature with little opposition. Only one legislator voted against the proposal.
“Gov. Scott obviously understands, and has read, the bill,” Marion Hammer, the lobbyist for the NRA and Unified Sportsmen, told the Tampa Bay Times. “The bill will prevent dangerous people with mental illness from being able to buy guns. Everyone should support that, and thank the governor for caring.”
The public opposition came through the efforts of two out-of-state groups, the Colorado-based National Association for Gun Rights and the Gun Owners of America.
“Gov. Scott has shown his disregard for law abiding gun owners and their second amendment rights by signing this bill,” Danielle Thompson, press secretary for the National Association for Gun Rights, said after the bill was signed.
She added the signing may “overshadow” Scott’s prior actions in support of gun rights, but was unsure how this could impact his 2014 re-election.
“It depends upon what initiatives come next,” she said.
A number of people urging a veto of HB 1355 have already also questioned Scott’s conservative credentials due to his suspension of Liberty County Sheriff Nick Finch. FDLE investigators said the sheriff destroyed documents tied to the arrest of a man charged with illegally carrying a concealed firearm.
Other critics of the new law, which goes into effect Monday, have said it will discourage people with mental illnesses from seeking treatment.
“I believe it will, if it becomes law, actually discourage people from seeking psychological/psychiatric treatment,” wrote Edward Robbeloth of Fort Walton Beach to Scott on Friday.
Even after the NRA’s Hammer, one of the best-known gun-rights advocates in the country, requested members voice their support for the bill, the impassioned pleas for a veto continued to dominate the comments on the issue that have come into Scott’s state “Sunburst” email inbox since the end of the regular session.
A number of those who wanted the measure vetoed said they may have a hard time voting again for Scott.
“I’m very concerned that the government is getting too involved in everything we do in life and that is our right as a US citizen!!!” Lucille Ewing of Davie wrote on Friday.
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Comments
6 Responses to “Scott Signs Bill To Restrict Mentally Ill From Buying Guns”
I am not surprised that Governor Scott signed this bill. He may have received a campaign contribution from a special interest group advocating gun control, Special interest have been pulling this puppets strings his entire term. Have any of you seen GEO group just made a very generous campaign donation to his reelection efforts? Governor Scott has served his and his contributors interest, not the peoples.
Gov. Scott…
Less four votes on your re-election bid.
I am done voting for politicians that promise one thing, but vote another…aka Marco The Rino Rubio…
The real question that should be asked when someone is purchasing a gun is “are you on prescription medication of any kind? So many people I know taking a prescription drug are affected mentally so this law should be interesting. Seems to me the prescription should be checked out before the person is called “mentally ill” also. Side effects are the real thing and the percentage of Americans (forget Floridians) taking prescriptions drugs is out of control.
So if someone is having a rough time of it for example a cop gets in a shoot out or shot at or has to take a life and this cop ask for help he/she just lost their job and the right to own a firearm,all because they elected to get help.It seems to me this will cause people to hold in or withdraw from getting help and maybe make them into someone who is now dangerous when this could have been avoided.i am all for keeping the guns out of certain peoples hands but when you voluntary ask for help i think that says a lot about the person and they should not be punished in doing so.How would you like a law to come out that reads if you ask for help you loose your job.
As a nurse, I am well aware of many people with psychiatric illnesses who are afraid to get treatment or even take an antidepressant. There are many, many more who will never seek psychiatric help at a facility due to the social stigma associated with all mental illnesses. I know people in my own family that need help, but refuse treatment because another family member or social acquaintance has made statements that anyone who takes medicine for a mental illness is crazy.
Governor Scott has just set back the efforts of years of our medical communities efforts to educate the public and take away the stigma of asking for help, getting counseling, or taking medication for mental illnesses. The vast majority of people seeking help for a mental illness are not a danger to themselves or others. Many times they are hospitalized to monitor new medications or because they had side effects from a medication. Most people admitted to a mental facility are suicidal or homacidal.
I also know of vindictive people who accuse their partners of abuse or mental illness, getting them forced into a mental health hospital (Baker Acted) or arrested as a way of manipulating them. I saw a home patient’s mother scratch her arm on a nail. When her husband got home, they had an argument in front of me. He never touched her, yet she called the cops, showed them her scratch and accused her husband of trying to cut her with a knife. That is one of many cases I’ve seen through the years.
The vast majority of people volunterering to enter a mental health facility are not mentally incapacitated, a danger to themselves or to others.
Governor Scott has lost my vote in his next political race!!
there are already laws on the books to keep the mentally ill from purchasing firearms. get a copy of the federal book from a dealer and read it. there are so many laws that the government doesn’t even know what is in it. the problem is in communication between agencies. often the back ground check does not show the mental issues because the fdle has no record of them. it would seem to me that not many people would walk in and say I want to buy a gun, and by the way I am mentally challenged. the intent of the law has merit, in real life I think it is useless.