RESPONSE To Rep. Bob Allen's so-called "True Gun Bill" Amendment

DATE: April 21, 2007
TO: USF & NRA Members and Friends
FROM: Marion P. Hammer
NRA Past President
Executive Director Unified Sportsmen of Florida

Many of you contacted committee members who voted against HB-1417 in the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee hearing, leading to the defeat of the bill to protect your right to have a firearm or any legal product in your private vehicle in a business parking lot.

Many of you received a reply from Rep. Bob Allen (R) who voted against the bill. Rep. Allen's attempt to blame NRA and me for his mistakes cannot go unanswered. We have received questions from some a significant number of members wanting to know what really happened. Giving you that information is the purpose of this communication.

Rep. Allen's actions are those of a politician trying to cover himself for selling out gunowners.

It is clear that Rep. Allen used this tactic to try to position himself for a State Senate race against pro-gun legislators who are also going to run for the same Senate seat.

Picking a big fight with the NRA and me was certain to gain him a lot of attention. However, trying to convince NRA members that he is more pro-gun than the NRA and Marion Hammer is the biggest joke of the century. Fortunately most folks didn't fall for it.

Rep. Allen was a co-sponsor of HB-1417. He NEVER had any problem with the bill until the Florida Chamber started putting pressure on him to oppose the bill.

Rep. Allen deliberately blindsided us with his so-called "True Gun Bill" amendment. That is a big no-no for people who are supposed to be on the same side. You just don't do that to friends. He never came to us to say he had a problem with the bill. He never asked us to change the bill. He never told us he was going to file an amendment to gut our bill...he just filed it.

When the amendment was posted, I was shocked. I asked him to withdraw the amendment. Rep. Allen refused to withdraw the amendment and assured me that he was not trying to kill the bill. Further, he assured me he would support the our bill if his amendment was defeated.

Rep. Allen's amendment was killed. He is the only one who voted for it. And then Rep. Allen voted against the bill that we have worked on for two years.

Rep. Allen has made a number of grave political errors in trying to blame others for his mistakes. He compounded it in his latest email in which he tells you to email me personally.

Rep. Allen says the following about the bill Rep. Baxley filed for us:

"This bill makes no mention of guns. This bill makes no mention of the Second Amendment and This bill is not a gun bill."

I am attaching for your review, a copy of the Rep. Baxley's bill (28 K PDF) that was conformed to the Senate bill and I point you to
page 2, line 28;
page 3, lines 79-82
page 4, lines 102-104

Further, I ask that you take time to read the whole bill and understand that Rep. Baxley's bill protects all legal products including, firearms, ammunition, gun clips, hunting gear, NRA magazines and all legal products a gunowners might have in a car or truck.

I would remind you that in the past, corporate giants have randomly searched private vehicles in their parking lots, without probable cause, under the pretense of searching for "contraband" -- which covers anything they chose -- and subsequently fired employees who had firearms in their cars and trucks.

Under Rep. Baxley's bill NO SEARCHES may be conducted by a business owner. Searches are only permitted by on-duty law enforcement based on due process and must comply with constitutional protections.

While Rep. Allen's amendment prohibits searches for firearms, it is so narrow that vehicles could be searched for ammunition or any other legal product -- and employees could be fired for possession of such products. In short, his amendment falls far short of providing adequate protection for gunowners. HE KNOWS THAT BECAUSE I EXPLAINED IT TO HIM.

I am sorry that Rep. Allen has chosen to engage in this type of conduct. Rest assured, we will keep fighting to protect your rights and we will not quit.

Marion Hammer