Studer Community Institute

Shannon's Window: What does new gun law mean for hurricane shelters

June 18, 2015
/ Shannon Nickinson
/ government

Those folks in Tallahassee need to to hit the books. A primer on Newton’s Third Law might have come in handy in the conversation about allowing Floridians without concealed-weapons licenses to carry guns for 48 hours after an emergency evacuation declaration is issued. Because for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. One consequence it may have been worth devoting some brainpower to was the impact the law would have on public hurricane shelters. You know, those places where in the face of a disaster people gather with their children and all of their worldly possessions in a heightened emotional state to ride out a storm. Eric Haines, chief deputy of the Escambia Sheriff’s Office, says the ripple effects of the new law are still being sorted out. “The Legislature… I guarantee that none of them thought about shelters when they voted for this law,” Haines says. Haines says that the Sheriff’s Office stations at least one deputy a every shelter in an emergency as a matter of course, though the law does not require it. “It’s one thing to go for a concealed weapons permit, go through the courses. This gives almost anybody who’s never even been to a class the right to carry a firearm,” Haines says. Joy Tsubooka, Santa Rosa County public information officer, said county officials are unsure how the measure would impact hurricane shelters, many of which are in schools. “The act is brand new and hasn’t been interrupted by the court system as of yet.” Tsubooka said. Backers said the measure will allow people to bring their weapons when forced to leave home because of hurricanes and other disasters. “It’s really a no-brainer,” National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer told the News Service of Florida earlier this year. “When people are forced to leave their homes, they have a right to carry their possessions with them — including their firearms to protect their property.” Haines says he was on duty for nearly 36 hours when Hurricane Ivan made landfall in 2004. In times like that, deputies and police officers are most focused on getting people off the beach and out of evacuation areas, he says. “The last thing I would have done is a pat-down on a guy coming off Pensacola Beach with his car loaded with all of his possessions,” Haines says. The Florida Sheriff’s Association did not object to the new law officially. In the 2013 legislative session, the Association had objections that the original language of the bill was too open-ended. The 48-hour limitation in the 2014 version of the bill was meant to address that. Which goes to the importance of thinking things all the way through before we make them the law of the land. If lawmakers wanted to be helpful in cracking down on the possibility of stolen firearms, Haines says they would look into putting provisions into law that would require gun owners to lock their cars when their firearm is inside. Gun owners, Haines notes, must take similar precautions to store their guns securely in their home. “Dozens, if not hundreds, of guns stolen in Escambia County every year are stolen out of unlocked cars,” Haines says. How about some food for thought on that one. Haines says the bill is a bit of a solution in search of a problem. “I would like to see some statistics on how many firearms were ever looted from someone’s house in a disaster,” Haines says.

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Shannon's Window: What does new gun law mean for hurricane shelters

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