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.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
13 minutes ago
- The Hill
DNC targets Republicans with ads calling for Epstein files' release
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is launching digital ads targeting a dozen Republican-held House districts, calling for the release of files related to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. One ad features Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) calling the controversy a 'serious issue' and saying that the highest volume of calls to her office have concerned the Epstein files, while another calls out the House GOP with the caption 'House Republicans shut down Congress to bury the truth.' A clip of President Trump standing next to Epstein plays in the background of the latter. Both ads tell viewers to call their representatives and demand that the Epstein files are released. Momentum had been building among Democrats and some Republicans for Congress to vote to force the Trump administration to release the documents related to the case. But House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced the body would start its summer recess a day early as Democrats sought to force votes in the Rules Committee to release the files, dividing Republicans. Democrats have sought to use the lingering controversy as a way to go on offense against Trump and the Republican Party, accusing them of protecting pedophiles. The topic of the Epstein files has received significant national attention for a few weeks since the Justice Department memo stating the Epstein didn't have a 'client list,' as has been alleged, and that the department wouldn't release additional documents to protect alleged victims. Trump has expressed frustration at the continued focus on Epstein and called for people to move on, but The Wall Street Journal report that Attorney General Pam Bondi informed Trump that his name appears in the files added a new dimension to the controversy. Being named in the files is not itself an indication of any wrongdoing. Democrats have sought to use the opportunity to go on attack and keep attention on the story. 'Democrats are going to continue to hold the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress accountable for their failure to release the Epstein files and the cover-up that we are witnessing in real time,' said Tim Hogan, the DNC's senior adviser for messaging, mobilization and strategy. 'The American people deserve full transparency, and Donald Trump and his sycophantic enablers are twisting themselves in knots trying to distort the truth.'
Boston Globe
13 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Ahead of shutdown deadline, Democrats face a dilemma on spending
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Republicans pushed through legislation this month Advertisement 'It is no secret the path to advancing more of our bills is going to be harder because of the unprecedented, partisan rescissions bill that Republicans just passed,' said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. 'It is extremely frustrating to see so many of the colleagues that have worked with us to pass funding bills turn around and vote to rip away the funding that we all agreed on.' Advertisement Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, told reporters recently that the appropriations process 'has to be less bipartisan,' infuriating Democrats who said the comment poisoned the well as they worked with Republicans to put together spending bills. Because those bills must pass to keep the government running, spending deals have historically been bipartisan products that can draw enough support to clear a Senate filibuster, forcing lawmakers in both parties to set aside their most incendiary proposals and broker a compromise. In a blowout 90-8 vote this week, most Senate Democrats voted to open floor debate on the chamber's first spending bill of the year, a typically less contentious measure covering military construction projects and veterans programs. Some other less divisive bills could potentially be added to the package. But Democrats are keeping a close eye on Republicans and the White House. In a sign of their wariness about the coming funding fight, House and Senate Democratic leaders and senior Democratic members of the Appropriations Committee from both chambers met privately in Schumer's office this week to plot and make sure they were on the same page. For now, Democrats appear ready to let the process play out. Murray called some of the initial spending bills advancing through the Senate 'solid, compromise bills that reject the truly draconian cuts proposed by President Trump and House Republicans.' 'No one wants a shutdown, and the way we avoid that shutdown is by working together,' she said. Advertisement A major priority for Democrats is winning assurances from Senate Republicans that they will not again agree to allow the Trump administration to cancel spending after Congress approves the bills. Without some commitment in place, Democrats say it is uncertain whether they can back the spending measures. 'It is not clear to me there is a way to get over that hurdle,' said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., a member of the Appropriations Committee. At the same time, House Republicans are advancing funding bills setting drastically lower spending levels than their counterparts in the Senate. Republicans on the Appropriations Committee in that chamber this week approved a spending bill that would slash the budget for foreign aid and the State Department by 22%. Still, some conservatives in the House have complained the spending bills they are advancing do not do enough to cut spending. The foreign aid bill provided billions more for some international programs than the president had requested, and rejected his calls to gut global broadcasting initiatives. 'I like the president's budget; I think he did a good job with it,' said Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, a Republican on the appropriations panel. 'I think we should hold to those levels.' House Republicans on the committee also voted to strip out a provision they had included in the measure that would have made it more difficult for the White House to cancel spending in the future. With a potential funding impasse coming this fall, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the majority leader, has already begun the political effort to pin the blame on Democrats if the government shuts down. Thune, who has pledged to bring spending bills to the floor after Democrats refused to do so in recent years, shrugged off Democratic worries over the administration cuts. Advertisement 'The Democrats have indicated, because they're so upset over the rescissions bill last week -- which, by the way, cut one-tenth of 1% of all federal spending -- that somehow they can use that as an excuse to shut down the appropriations process and therefore shut down the government,' he said. 'We think that would be a big mistake, and hopefully they will think better of it and work with us.' This article originally appeared in .
San Francisco Chronicle
13 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump administration clears way to keep Alina Habba as New Jersey's top federal prosecutor
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — President Donald Trump has moved to keep his former defense attorney Alina Habba on the job as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, even though a panel of judges refused to extend her tenure. Habba's term was set to expire this week, and federal judges in New Jersey had moved to appoint someone else to the position. But the Republican president on Thursday withdrew Habba's nomination to hold the role permanently, setting in motion a series of steps that allow her to transition from being an interim U.S. attorney to an acting U.S. attorney and remain in the job for the next 210 days. 'Donald J. Trump is the 47th President. Pam Bondi is the Attorney General. And I am now the Acting United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey,' Habba posted on X. 'I don't cower to pressure. I don't answer to politics. This is a fight for justice. And I'm all in.' The Trump administration's decision resolves what had threatened to become a high-profile clash over who would serve as New Jersey's top prosecutor, a post with sweeping authority over public corruption, violent crime and organized crime cases. The move allows Habba, one of the most visible and controversial U.S. attorneys in the country, to remain in charge and cements the administration's preference for loyalists in key Justice Department positions. Habba, who became interim U.S. attorney for the state in March, appeared to lose the position on Tuesday when judges in the district declined to keep her in the post while she awaited confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Instead, the judges appointed one of Habba's subordinates, Desiree Leigh Grace, to take her place. But hours later, Bondi removed Grace, accusing the judges who replaced Habba of being 'rogue' and 'politically minded.' In a post on LinkedIn, Grace addressed her appointment by the district's judges, saying it would 'forever be the greatest honor that they selected me on merit.' Habba, whose term as interim U.S. attorney was set to end Friday, was designated as acting United States attorney, a Justice Department official said. Federal law would have precluded her from serving as acting U.S. attorney while her nomination for the role was pending in the Senate. During her four months as interim U.S. attorney, Habba's office tangled with two prominent New Jersey Democrats — Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver — over their actions during a chaotic visit to a privately operated immigration detention center in the state's largest city. Baraka was arrested on a trespass charge stemming from his attempt to join a congressional visit of the facility. Baraka denied any wrongdoing, and Habba eventually dropped that charge. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa rebuked Habba's office over the arrest and short-lived prosecution, calling it a 'worrisome misstep.' Baraka is now suing Habba over what he says was a 'malicious prosecution.' Habba then brought assault charges against McIver, whose district includes Newark, over physical contact she made with law enforcement officials as Baraka was being arrested. The prosecution, which is pending, is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption. McIver denies that anything she did amounted to assault. Besides the prosecution of McIver, Habba had announced she launched an investigation into New Jersey's Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, and attorney general, Matt Platkin, over the state's directive barring local law enforcement from cooperating with federal agents conducting immigration enforcement. In social media posts, Habba highlighted her office's prosecution of drug traffickers, including against 30 members of a fentanyl and crack cocaine ring in Newark. Trump had formally nominated Habba as his pick for U.S. attorney on July 1, but the state's two Democratic U.S. senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim, signaled their opposition to her appointment. Under a long-standing Senate practice known as senatorial courtesy, a nomination can stall out without backing from home state senators, a phenomenon facing a handful of other Trump picks for U.S. attorney.
