A Florida referendum to ban common shotguns and rifles labeling them as ‘assault weapons’ failed by a wide margin on the 2020 ballot. While 147,304 signatures may seem like a lot of names that was just over 19 percent of the number needed to ratify the referendum.
Dean Weingarten of Ammoland reports:
To make it on the November ballot, organizers had to gather 766,200 verified signatures by today. The organizers fell well short with just 147,304, according to the Secretary of State.
The proponents of the measure and the mainstream media touted it as a “ban on assault weapons” supported by a “swelling grass roots” movement in the Sunshine State. If passed, the referendum would have banned virtually all semi-automatic rifles and most semi-automatic shotguns.
Weingarten, in an earlier Ammoland article raised legitimate suspicions that those sponsoring the Florida Ban on Semiautomatic Rifles and Shotguns Initiative ever expected it to appear on the ballot as an “initiated constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.” In other words, he believes they knew it had no chance of ever being on the ballot.
Had the measure gotten another half-million votes it would have to be approved by 60% of the voters to become an amendment of the Florida Constitution.
So why spend all that time, effort, and money on pushing a measure everyone knew had no chance of making it on the ballot? Understanding this offers some light into the end game of gun-control zealots. Consider these imponderables:
• As written, State Attorney General Ashley Moody told the Miami Herald the measure was “misleading to the point of being fraudulent.” She said, “It is so far-reaching and misleading, it would also include guns like the gun my grandfather gave my father and his brother when they were 9 and 10, 60 years ago.”
• The Florida Supreme Court would have to approve the measure had it gained enough signatures, and then AG Moody would have to persuade the court to accept a measure she has already gone on record as labeling bogus.
• If the Florida Supreme Court approved the measure, it “would immediately be challenged as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment of the United States.”
In 14 months, the Florida Ban on Semiautomatic Rifles and Shotguns Initiative could only muster less than 20 percent of the signatures needed to pass. Finding the remaining 80 percent needed in just the ten months remaining before the November ballot is less than likely.
Add to that signatures on a Florida referendum are only good for two years before the whole thing has to start over again and you can see, this was never intended to create anything, except media buzz.
The group promoting the failed measure is Ban Assault Weapons Now. It’s petition read, “BAWN is leading the grassroots movement to put an amendment on Florida’s 2020 ballot to constitutionally ban the sale of assault weapons.”
BAWN’s website has a “Donate” features that links through Act Blue which Weingarten calls “a Democrat/ progressive suckerfunding site.” Its advertised address is 6619 S Dixie Hwy #148, Miami, FL 33143, a box in a UPS Store in Miami.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that a little investigation found the names of Michael Bloomberg and David Hogg.
So much for grass roots.
With the advent of wide spread voter fraud by the Left, Florida is lucky the measure didn’t pass. If the voter fraud in the Presidential election doesn’t bring a substantial amount of prosecutions then the next time there is a push for gun bans you will see a major increase in votes for a ban. So far very few if any prosecutions for any misdeeds by Democrats or people on the left has brought any prosecutions.
I moved from Illinois to Florida almost 20 years ago and Never Looked Back!
Our Government, with the exception of some Lame Liberal Democrats, actually govern based on the Will of the People! Novel Thought is it not!
Unfortunately, more and more people from Democrat Dictatorial States are moving here. We do not want them to bring any of that kind of thinking with them!
Let’s see now. Those who have a CCW (concealed carry permit} have to spend time in a class and at the range. They also undergo a full FBI background check before having the CCW issued. People serving in Congress do NOT undergo any kind of background check. Those people are the ones who can DECLARE WAR and get no telling how many Americans killed. And another thing. Many years ago, when Japan was planning to invade the American West Coast, Admiral Yamamoto, who was in command said, “Firearms are as plentiful as the blades of grass. Casualties would be unacceptable.” If this country were to be invaded and every firearm owner were to start returning fire, it seems as though that would be a good thing.
OUR POLITICIANS IN TALLAHASSEE ARE JUST AS CORRUPT AS THE ONES IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
FLORIDA SHOULD BE A 2ND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY STATE, AND CUT OUT THIS GUN GRABBING CRAP EVERY YEAR, NOT ONLY FROM THE STATE, BUT FEDS ALSO.
OUR RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS, GIVIEN TO US BY THE CONSTITUTION, SHOULDN’T BE UNDER CONSTANT SCRUTINY EVERY YEAR AFTER YEAR. IT SHOULD BE PUT TO REST FOR ONCE AND ALL, THE MONEY OUR GOVERNMENT WASTES ON THIS ISSUE, I’M SURE COULD BE USED IN A MUCH WISER WAY.
AND I DON’T KNOW WHY GOV DESANTIS APPROVED, THE “RED FLAG LAWS”, BUT THEY SHOULD BE ABOLISHED, THIS GOES DIRECTLY AGAINST THE CITIZENS OF FLORIDA IN MANY WAYS.
FLORIDA SHOULD DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO UNCOUPLE US FROM THE REACH OF THE CORRUPT/ROGUE FEDS, WE NOW HAVE IN POWER. ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE TO RID FLORIDA OF FEDERAL INETERVENSION SHOULD BE DONE NOW.
GOVERNOR DESANTIS IS DOING BETTER THAN ANY OF HIS PREDESSORS, I HOPE HE KEEPS ON GOING. THIS ROGUE DEMONOKRAT, NIKKI FRIED WHO LIKE MOST DEMS. HAVE ANTI-AMERICAN VIEWS, SHOULD BE REPRIMANDED, FOR NOT FOLLOWING THE ORDERS OF GOVERNOR DESANTIS, AND SHE’S NOT THE NOT THE ONLY ONE, WHO REBELLED. NIKKI AS DEFIANT AS SHE IS, IS NOT THE GOVERNOR! DON’T CONTINUE TO LET THE DEMS OFF THE HOOK, FOR DOING WRONGS IN STATE OR FEDERAL ISSUES.
It’s nice to see that someone verifies signatures.
So-called “assault weapons” are ALREADY banned for civilian use (select-fire or full auto capable) COMMUNIST sympathizers that call themselves “democrats” that want to disarm everyone for easy “takeover” of this country, came up with that loose “term” to make a semi-auto weapon that is LEGAL for Law-abiding citizens to own, “scary”. to people that do not understand weapons, and would go along with their nefarious scheme to turn the people of this country into helpless unarmed “sheelples” ripe for conquest. NEVER give up your guns…They are the LAST defense against a tyrannical “government” (like we have FRAUDULENTLY “in power” NOW) THAT my friends, was the REASON for the 2nd amendment to be included in OUR bill of rights. NOTHING about “deer hunting” or “target shooting” like the left wing communists keep opining.
if the gun-grabbers put as much effort into grabbing the illegal guns as they do coming after law-abiding gun owners, you might see crime fall dramatically. or, putting the obviously insane under medical care might also help. as long as people can get guns in the back alleys of the major crime cities, we are fighting a losing battle. before long, the thugs will have better firepower than patriots. sad, but true. the demon rats know they will be able to take us over easily if we have no way to defend ourselves. we can’t allow this to happen. that is the first thing communists do, disarm the sheeple. no resistance to their nefarious plans if that happens. stand firm. we have the right under the second amendment. don’t let the likes of a Joe Biden tell you any differently.
assault weapons are legal if you can find one and pay the transfer tax on it the cheapest one ive seen cost over 5000$ with many selling for20000$ and more,, these were grandfathered in in about 1985 ,when they disallowed any transfer of unregistered and newly made weapons ,