Posted: 7/26/2003 6:54:09 AM EDT
[#7]
We'll see if this gets published... My letter to this rag, regarding their rag's distortion of FL's Concealed Weapon or Firearm License requirement: I am writing to respectfully demand a retraction and correction of your July 10th “Sunshine and Bullets” article.
I know that you are free to write with an openly anti-gun slant in every single article, but you have a journalist’s duty to verify information before passing it off as factual. I find regrettable that your articles often grossly distort, and intentionally avoid, factual data. Specifically, in your July 10th article, you write about getting a concealed weapons license from a gun-show for $35. This is prima-facia absurdity-the FL Department of State Division of Licensing (FLDOS) is the issuing authority for such licenses, not the gun-show. Furthermore, completion of a training class is meaningless, without completing the rest of this lengthy and expensive process.
Your source of ‘fact’ in that article was not only absurd, but was actually laughable. Do you always report the patently false word of idiots as “fact,” without any attempt at researching it?
Here are some of the requirement for obtaining a concealed weapons license, direct from the FDOS's website (http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/weapons/index.html): § Read and study the copy of Chapter 790, Florida Statutes. § Have a passport-style, color photograph made. § Get verification of training that satisfies the training requirement. (The $35-50 gun-show class that you erroneously refer to as the issuing authority) It should be noted that military service or a hunter’s safety class may substitute for this class. § Get certified copies of court documents relating to any criminal charges against you, if any. § Take the fingerprint card to a local law enforcement agency and ask to be fingerprinted. § Complete the detailed, two-page application. § In the presence of a notary, sign application. § Submit non-refundable payment for the license fee of $117 to FLDOS. Assuming this information is correctly submitted, all applicants will still wait at least 60 days, and sometimes over 90 days, to receive her license in the mail.
For your further information, FL's over 319,190 (as of 6/2003) Concealed Weapon License holders are among the most law-abiding and respectful citizens to be found anywhere, committing less crime as a group, on average, than even off-duty police officers. I know that fact bothers radical gun-phobes, but it's true. Please, give these lawfully armed civilians their due respect for responsibly exercising their 2nd Amendment rights.
You would also do well to contact an NRA media consultant- the service is absolutely free. They will give you unbiased, factual data and descriptions of the weapons and related jargon that you obviously have such a poor grasp of.
Please educate yourself by contacting FDOS and NRA; please take the time and effort to learn the unbiased facts about lawful firearms use. True journalistic integrity demands nothing less than a retraction and full written correction for the July 10th article. Of course, my suggested pre-emptive research and education will avoid the need for future retractions and corrections.
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