All the controversy over having a gun at work will end soon. The Guns-At-Work bill is on its way to the governor after the Senate passed it on Wednesday.
With little debate, the bill ended in a 26-13 vote. Gov. Charlie Crist said he was unclear about the bill minutes before the expected passage, but said he would probably sign it.
This bill stated that employees with a concealed weapons permit could keep a gun locked in their trunks at work, even if the employer wants to ban guns on the property. Other pro-gun groups and the National Rifle Association support the bill.
Much like The Florida Retail Federation and the Florida Chamber of Commerce, we do not agree with this bill.
If Crist does sign the bill, several exceptions will allow defense and military contractors, corrections facilities and schools to continue to ban the weapons. Those exemptions make a mockery of claims that the bill protects the Second Amendment because it singles out certain places where the bill will not apply. Like schools, prisons, nuclear power plants and other ‘high-risk’ areas.
Safety should be the number one issue, but to sign a bill that could put employees’ lives at stake is not worth it.
As U.S citizens, we all have the right to bear arms but this cannot be the right way.
Priscilla Blow for the Editorial Board.