{"id":5482,"date":"2005-10-08T09:43:10","date_gmt":"2005-10-08T13:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com\/?p=5482"},"modified":"2005-10-08T09:43:10","modified_gmt":"2005-10-08T13:43:10","slug":"come-to-florida-and-get-your-head-blown-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/come-to-florida-and-get-your-head-blown-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Come to Florida — and get your head blown off!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guest Post by Morbo<\/a><\/p>\n

I kind of like the gang at the Brady Campaign to Control Gun Violence. These days they are employing some guerrilla tactics I find highly entertaining.<\/p>\n

Case in point: Every year, 1.5 million folks from Great Britain visit Florida, most of them hitting the beaches or Disneyland. The Brady Campaign has been running ads in British newspapers, warning would-be visitors about the Sunshine State’s new law that allows gun owners to use deadly force on the streets if they feel threatened.<\/p>\n

As the British newspaper the Birmingham Post put it<\/a>: “A series of adverts will appear in British newspapers…highlighting new laws which enable gun owners to shoot anyone they feel threatens their safety.” These “adverts” read<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“Thinking about a Florida vacation? Please ensure your family is safe. A new law in the Sunshine State authorizes nervous of frightened residents to use deadly force. In Florida, avoid disputes. Use special caution in arguing with motorists on Florida roads.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Activists with the Brady Campaign have also been working airports at Miami and Orlando, handing similarly worded flyers to foreign tourists. The flyers advise in part, “Do not argue unnecessarily with local people. If someone appears to be angry with you, maintain to the best of your ability a positive attitude, and do not shout or make threatening gestures.”<\/p>\n

Sarah Brady, the wife of former press secretary for President Ronald W. Reagan James Brady, told British reporters, “We think people visiting Florida should be aware of this law and act accordingly.”
\n
\nI’m sure everyone recalls that James Brady was shot in the head by John Hinckley, who tried to assassinate Reagan in 1981. Brady survived, but is wheel-chair bound. He and his wife have dedicated their lives to challenging the National Rifle Association. The Bradys don’t have anywhere near the money the NRA does, but their gutsy campaign has inspired many to keep fighting the gun lobby and its wholly owned subsidiary, the U.S. Congress.<\/p>\n

This new effort is great for several reasons: Number one, it has infuriated Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the gun nuts in the stated legislature. (But they can’t do a damn thing about it. Ha, ha!) Two, it has the NRA equally angry. Three, it might actually work and hit the state where it hurts most: the pocketbook. (Britain averages about 30 handgun murders per year. Potential visitors from the U.K. have every reason to be concerned about the level of gun violence here.) Four, it’s a relatively cheap way to get some free media.<\/p>\n

To Sarah and James I say, “Good show!” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest Post by Morbo I kind of like the gang at the Brady Campaign to Control Gun Violence. These days they are employing some guerrilla tactics I find highly entertaining. Case in point: Every year, 1.5 million folks from Great Britain visit Florida, most of them hitting the beaches or Disneyland. The Brady Campaign has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[617],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5482\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebenen.com\/thecarpetbaggerreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}