Posted: 12/12/2005 6:44:25 PM EDT
|
FROM "SHOOT FIRST" TO "SHOOT AT WORK" Brady Campaign Announces Fight Against Bill That Would Force Businesses to Accept Firearms on Private Property For Immediate Release: 12-06-2005 Contact Communications: (202) 898-0792 Tallahassee, Florida - With Florida state legislators meeting in a special session, officials of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and other gun violence prevention groups announced the start of an aggressive campaign to alert businesses in the Sunshine State that legislators are looking at a bill that would require those businesses to allow loaded guns on their property. “The Florida legislature needs to stick to Medicaid, hurricane relief and other issues that make sense - and stop spending the people’s time on putting guns everywhere,” said Peter Hamm, Communications Director for the Brady Campaign. “We’re going to target Florida businesses with mail and advertisements urging them to stand up for their rights. And we’re alerting the nation’s largest businesses to be aware of what Florida is looking at as well.” The Florida legislation was introduced by Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala) - the same legislator who introduced last year’s bill that allows Floridians to use deadly force in any public setting as long as they can make a case that they felt threatened. Similar legislation has been passed in Oklahoma, Alaska, Minnesota and Kentucky, defeated in Indiana, Alabama, Montana, Utah and Tennessee, and introduced in Wisconsin. The Oklahoma law has led to a Federal lawsuit against the state by the business community, seeking a permanent injunction. Representatives of the Brady Campaign and Brady Center, the Million Mom March of Florida and the Florida Coalition to Stop Gun Violence were joined by State Representatives Eleanor Sobel and Ken Gottlieb, both of Broward County. Other legislators were invited to participate. They were also joined by Richard Parry, Director of Safety and Security for the Iron Mountain Company, a Boston-based firm that has broad business interests in Florida. The Brady Center released a report, Forced Entry: The National Rifle Association’s Campaign to Force Businesses To Accept Guns At Work, detailing the legislation and describing the landscape of workplace violence in America. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence launched a multifaceted campaign in October to educate visitors to Florida about the so-called “Shoot First” law passed by the Legislature which went into effect October 1. Brady will be launching billboards in Florida about the “Shoot First Law” in the coming weeks. Details on the effort are available at a special web site, www.shootfirstlaw.org. ### # # # As the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence, the Brady Campaign, working with its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, is devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities. |