Some gun rights groups are not happy with Florida's farm bill
This year's Florida farm bill would give the state an extra 90 days to issue a permit to carry a concealed gun if a background check reveals a potentially disqualifying criminal history.
That is one of the changes that prompted gun rights groups to oppose the bill, HB 651, during its first hearing in the House on Tuesday.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) now has 90 days to issue or deny concealed carry permits and can suspend the process if a law enforcement agency or court notifies the department that the person applying for the permit has been arrested or charged with crimes relating to domestic violence, drugs, and other violence.
HB 651 would double that time and clarify that the suspension of the permit-issuing process is temporary until the charges are dismissed or the person is convicted, but it also requires the applicant to submit to the agency evidence that the case was dismissed.
Representatives from Florida Carry and Guns Owners of America argued during the House Housing, Agriculture, and Tourism Subcommittee hearing that the agency shouldn't have up to 180 days to issue a concealed carry permit if it only takes three days for a person to take possession of a gun after buying it.
'We support better reporting and record access by FDACS and [the Florida Department of Law Enforcement] to keep the process fair and efficient; any delay is an infringement,' said Jed Carroll, Florida deputy state director of Gun Owners of America. 'As Martin Luther King said, 'A right delayed is a right denied.''
Lake Placid Republican Rep. Kaylee Tuck, the bill's co-sponsor, said FDACS is not to blame for the permit delays.
'What I don't think was actually communicated in that testimony was that FDACS is not the bad actor,' Tuck told reporters after the meeting. 'They're not getting the information they need to be able to process these applications whenever there is a potentially disqualifying factor on there.'
During the 90-day extension proposed in the bill, the agency can request additional information from law enforcement and courts.
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