The Gun Owners of America spokesperson explains why House Bill 543 isn’t what some people think.
A few days ago, Governor Ron DeSantis proposed a new Constitutional-Carry bill for Florida that would enable people to open-carry firearms without the need for a government permit. However, the Gun Owners of America took a closer look at the bill and found something of interest – the fine print.
In the bill, it noted that the bill is, in fact, a permitless concealed-only carry bill that doesn’t offer open carry.
This is an interesting change from what half of the United States currently has with its Constitutional Carry rules, and despite what DeSantis had in mind, this would be only a variation of that.
The Gun Owners of America have pushed for DeSantis to use the Republican Supermajority to make it a full Constitutional-Carry law. Joining us now to discuss this further is Stephen Willeford, the spokesman for the group. You may recall in 2017 how he stopped the Sutherland Springs, Texas mass shooting, acting as the “good guy with a gun.” His expertise is welcome in this matter.
Q&A:
- Why do you believe that Governor DeSantis wasn’t completely clear on the terms of House Bill 543 with Constitutional-Carry? Could he have been pressured by members of his political group? Or is it something else?
- What’s the importance or advantage of Open-Carry over Constitutional-Carry, do you think?
- There has been some Democratic pushback against the idea of Open-Carry. What argument would you have for someone that feels it would be a danger to others?
- Would you say that the states that support Constitutional-Carry have seen an effective drop in crime compared to, say, states like California that don’t?
- What would you say the advantage of Constitutional-Carry is over a gun ban in general? Do you think a gun ban would be useless considering people would be able to find the guns anyway?
- Tell us more about your “hero with a gun” incident in 2017, and the importance of being ready against an “active shooter.”
- Where can we learn more about you, as well as the Gun Owners of America?
- My official website is http://www.stephenwilleford.com. You can read more about the Gun Owners of America at https://www.gunowners.org/.
About Stephen Willeford…
Stephen represents the Gun Owners of America and is known around the country as the “good guy with the gun” for helping stop the largest Texas mass shooting in the history of the state in 2017. He is available to speak about all 2nd Amendment issues, as well as the importance of the Gun Owners of America. You can read more about him at http://www.stephenwilleford.com.
CONTACT: Jerry McGlothlin at: geraldmcg@outlook.com or 919-437-0001.
