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1 RESOLUTION NO. ___ _
2
3 A Resolution of the City of South Miami calling for the Florida
4 Legislature to limit the number and size of firearm magazine clips and to
5 ban quick release magazine capabilities of weapons sold and/or
6 possessed by members of the general public.
7
8 WHEREAS, there have been recent mass shootings and the United States
9 Congress has chosen not to do anything; and
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11 WHEREAS, the shooters have carried multiple high-capacity ammunition clips
12 with them; and
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14 WHEREAS, one of the principal goals of the United States Constitution set forth
15 in the preamble to the Constitution, is "to insure domestic Tranquility;" and
16
1 7 WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has held that longstanding
18 prohibitions and restrictions on firearms possession are consistent with the Second
19 Amendment notwithstanding the fact that the Second Amendment protects an individual's
20 right to possess a firearm, unconnected to service in a militia; and
21
22 WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that the Second
23 Amendment does not grant to the citizens of the United States the right to bear all arms
24 and that the states are authorized to limit the type of arms that a citizen is allowed to own.
25 See District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 128 S. Ct. 2783, 171 L. Ed. 2d 637
26 (2008). In Heller, while striking down several statutes in the District of Columbia
27 prohibiting the possession of handguns and requiring lawfully-owned firearms to be kept
28 inoperable, the Supreme Court found that the Second Amendment only protects an
29 individual's right to possess firearms, at least for purposes of self-defense in the home. Id.
30 at 576, 636. The court made it clear that it was referring to those weapons "in common
31 use" and that the right did not extend to "those weapons not typically possessed by law-
32 abiding citizens for lawful purposes," [id. at 625, 627] and that "the right [is] not a right to
33 keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever
34 purpose" Id. at 626; and
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36 WHEREAS, the Florida Constitution, Article 1, Section 8 (a) states: "The right of
37 the people to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves and of the lawful authority of
38 the state shall not be infringed, except that the manner of bearing arms may be
39 regulated by law" [emphasis added]; and
40
41 WHEREAS, a limit to the amount of ammunition carried by a law-abiding person
42 at any given time does not prevent the use oftheir weapon when needed in an emergency
43 situation; and
44
45 WHEREAS, legally acquired weapons with high-capacity ammunition clips were
46 used by American citizens to massacre innocent people in Columbine, Aurora, Newton,
47 San Bernadino, and now in Orlando; and
48
1 WHEREAS, in the Columbine mass shooting, the attackers were armed with a
2 handgun, a shotgun, and other weapons but more to the analysis for the purposes of this
3 resolution is the fact that they had 16 magazines of ammunition for their handguns. It has
4 been reported that they had, for their handguns, thirteen (13) 10-round magazines, one 52-
5 round magazine, one 32-round magazine and one 28-round magazine; and
6
7 WHEREAS, in the Aurora mass shooting, the attacker was in possession of a rifle
8 with a 100 drum magazine, in addition to other weapons; and
.9
10 WHEREAS, in the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Newtown,
11 the attacker was in possession of multiple 3D-round capacity magazines for a rifle, in
12 addition to other weapons; and
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14 WHEREAS, in the San Bernadino mass shooting, the attackers were armed with a
15 large AR-15, which typically has a 3D-round magazine, in addition to other weapons; and
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17 WHEREAS, in the Orlando mass shooting, the attacker was armed with a semi-
18 automatic rifle that typically has a 3D-round capacity magazine and a semi-automatic
19 pistol that typically has a 17 -round capacity magazine; and
20
21 WHEREAS, the legal possession of extra ammunition magazines is a proven
22 threat to law enforcement and to the safety and tranquility of Florida's population as a
23 whole; and
24
25 WHEREAS, the absence of a quick release mechanism could give someone time,
26 in the case of a mass shooting incident, to take down the shooter; and
27
28 WHEREAS, the sale or possession of any weapon with quick release magazines
29 or any tool that converts a gun to a quick release should be banned.
30
31 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
32 COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, THAT:
33
34 Section 1. The City of South Miami, Florida, urges the Florida Legislature to:
35 limit the size of any ammunition clip possessed by members of the general public to ten
36 (10) rounds of ammunition; to limit the number of firearm magazine clips to one (1) per
37 firearm while being carried; to ban the sale or possession of any weapon with quick
38 release magazines or any tool that converts a gun to allow a quick-release; and to ban the
39 sale of magazine clips sold separately, unless in exchange for a clip previously sold with a
40 weapon. The foregoing should not apply to state-certified law enforcement officers,
41 federally-certified law enforcement officers, and members of the United States military
42 who are on active duty. We further request that all other municipalities and counties in
43 Florida join us in letting the voices of sanity and reason be heard and prevail in
44 Tallahassee by limiting the type and number of ammunition clips that can be sold or
45 possessed, and ban the sale and possession of weapons with quick-release mechanisms
46 and the sale and possession of quick release attachments to weapons to the general public.
47
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Section 2. The City Clerk is hereby directed to send a copy of this resolution
to the municipalities in Miami-Dade County, members of the County Commission, the
Florida House, the Florida .Senate, the Governor, the Miami-Dade Congressional
Delegation, the League of Cities and the League of Counties.
Section 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this __ th_day of _____ , 2016.
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM,
LANGUAGE, LEGALITY,
AND EXECUTION THEREOF:
CITY ATTORNEY
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APPROVED:
MAYOR
COMMISSION VOTE
Mayor Stoddard:
Vice Mayor Welsh:
Commissioner Edmond:
Commissioner Harris:
Commissioner Liebman: