Res No 119-16-14674RESOLUTION NO.119-16-14674
A Resolution of the City of South Miami callingfor the Florida Legislature to
joinotherstatesin prohibiting thesaleandpossession of rapidfireandhigh
power "assault"weapons.
WHEREAS,thedrafters of theSecond Amendment ("Amendment II")tothe
United States Constitution never envisioned assault weapons when the right tobeararms
was first conceived;and
WHEREAS,one of the principal goals of the United States Constitution setforth
inthepreambletothe Constitution,is "to insuredomestic Tranquility;"and
WHEREAS,the United StatesSupremeCourthasheldthat longstanding
prohibitions and restrictions onfirearms possession are consistent withtheSecond
Amendment notwithstanding thefact that the Second Amendment protects an individual's
right to possess a firearm,unconnected to service ina militia;and
WHEREAS,the United States Supreme Court has further ruled that the Second
Amendment does not grant to the citizens of the United States the right to bear all arms
and that the states are authorized to limit thetype of arms that a citizen is allowed toown.
See District of Columbia v.Heller,554 U.S.570,128S.Ct.2783,171L.Ed.2d
637 (2008).In Heller,whilestrikingdown several-statutesinthe District of Columbia
prohibiting the possession of handguns and requiring lawfully owned firearms tobe kept
inoperable,the Supreme Court found that the Second Amendment only protects an
individual's rightto possess firearms,atleastfor purposes of self-defense inthehome.Id.
at576,636.Thecourtmadeitclearthatitwasreferringtothose weapons "in common
use"and that therightdidnot extend to "those weapons not typically possessed bylaw-
abiding citizens for lawful purposes,"[id.at625,627]andthat"theright[is]notarightto
keepandcarryany weapon whatsoever inany manner whatsoever andfor whatever
purpose"Id.at 626.
WHEREAS,abanontheownership of machine gunshas been heldtobe
constitutional.SeeUnitedStatesv.One(1)PalmettoStateArmory PA-15 Machinegun
Receiver/Frame,2016U.S.App.LEXIS9050(3dCir.Pa.May18,2016)
WHEREAS,legally acquired assaultweaponswereusedby American citizens to
massacreinnocentpeopleinColumbine,Aurora,Newtown,SanBernadino,SandyHook,
and now in Orlando.
WHEREAS,anassaultweaponwasrecentlyusedtokillandinjurecitizens of the
City of South Miami;and
WHEREAS,thelegalpossessionofassaultweaponsisaproventhreattolaw
enforcement andtothesafetyandtranquilityofFlorida'spopulationasawhole;and
WHEREAS,thefederalgovernmenthadanautomaticweaponsbaninforcefor
ten years until it expired in 2004;and
Res.No.119 -16-14674
WHEREAS,California,Connecticut,District of Columbia,Hawaii,Maryland,
Massachusetts,NewJersey,NewYorkhaveassaultweaponbansinforceatthistime.
NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI,FLORIDA,THAT:
Section 1.TheCity of SouthMiami,Florida,urgesthe Florida Legislatureto
prohibitthesaleandpossession of assaultweaponsintheStateofFlorida.Wefurther
requestthatallothermunicipalitiesandcountiesinFloridajoinusinlettingthevoicesof
sanityand reason beheardand prevail in Tallahassee by prohibiting the possession and
sale of all assault weapons.
Section 2.TheCity Clerk is hereby directed tosendacopy of this resolution
tothe municipalities in Miami DadeCounty,members of theCounty Commission,the
Florida House,the Florida Senate,the Governor,and the Miami-Dade Congressional
Delegation and all elected officials in the State of Florida.
Section 3.This resolution shalltake effect immediately upon adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 21st day of June 2016.
CITY CLERK
READ ANDAPPROYED AS TO FORM,
LANGyAOTXEG^
mOWTHERBOF:
APPROVED:
MAYOR
COMMISSION VOTE 4-0
Mayor Stoddard:Yea
Vice Mayor Welsh:Yea
Commissioner Edmond:Yea
Commissioner Harris:Yea
Commissioner Liebman:absent
Page 2 of2
OrlandoshootingbringsscrutinytoFloridaguncontrollaws|Miami Herald 6/14/16,1:04 PM
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY JUNE 13,2016 8:44 PM
Orlando gunman's weapon of choice:
legal in Florida,banned in New York
HIGHLIGHTS —*
Seven states ban the sale of semi-automatic rifles like the one that Omar
Mateen used
AR-15 also was covered by the expired federal "assault-weapons ban"
Clinton and Trump take opposite stands on gun control after the massacre
I
Ed Henson,owner of the SaintLucie Shooting Center 01:49
1of2
Weapons purchased atthegun shop wereusedtomassacre49peopleinanOrlandoclub
Sunday morning.Theownersaidthe ATF confirmedthestorewasincompliancewithgun
sales lawand regulations.The owner spoke tothemediaonMon.,June 13,2016.Charles
Trainor Jr.-ctrainor@miamiherald.com
BY DOUGLAS HANKS
dhanks@miamiherald.com
Fromalegalstandpoint,OmarMateenboughthisdeadliest
weaponattherightplaceandthe right time.
Authoritiesbelievethe29-year-oldFloridaresidentandlicensed
securityguardshotmostofhisvictimswithan AR-15,asemi
automaticriflethathepurchasedlegallyinPortSt.Lucieearlierin
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Orlando shootingbringsscrutinyto Florida guncontrol laws |Miami Herald >6/14/16,1:04 PM
the month.
NewYork,California,theDistrictof Columbia andfive other
states have laws banningthesaleofthattypeof weapon.Eight
statesand the DistrictofColumbiaalsoprohibitthesaleof
ammunitionmagazinesthatcanholdmorethan10bullets—a
crucialaccessoryforthesortofrapid-firecarnagethatunfolded
earlySundaymorningatthePulsenightclub in downtown
Orlando.
"It's a minority of states that have these type of laws in place,"
saidAriFreilich,staff attorneyfortheLawCentertoPreventGun
Violence inSan Francisco."Theevidenceistheydo help."
Seddique Mateen,the father of the Pulse
nightclub shooter,says,"I don't forgive him"
SeddiqueMateen,thefatherofPulsenightclubshooterOmarMateen,speaks
withthemediafromhishomeonMon.,June13,2016aboutSunday's
massacre.
Lance Dixon -ldixon@miamiherald.com
WhileFlorida doesn't havebarrierstopurchasingthekindof
military-stylerifleMateenused,ashort-livedfederallaw
regulating that kind of weaponcouldhavecomplicatedhis
purchase.Enactedin1994,theso-called"assaultweaponsban"
targetedthesametypeofrifleMateenpurchased,andgun-control
advocatesareusing Sunday's massacreasarallyingcalltorevive
the law.
64
ONE OFTHE MANY PROBLEMS WITHTHE GUN CONTROL IS THAT
THE BAD GUYSWILLHAVETHEGUNS.THE GOOD GUYS WON'T.
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Orlando shooting bringsscrutinytoFloridaguncontrollaws|MiamiHerald 6/14/16,1:04 PM
Donald Trump
"Florida'sdoesn'tregulateassaultweapons,or 50-caliber rifles,or
large-capacityammunitionmagazines,"presumptiveDemocratic
nomineeHillaryClintontoldCNNonMondaymorning,rattling
offastringof protections sheseeslackinginFlorida'sgun-control
laws."Now,youknow,that'salotofnots.AndIbelievestrongly
that common sense gun-safety reform across our country would
make a difference."
HerRepublicanrival,DonaldTrump,characterized moregunlaws
ashinderingchancesofpreventing another Orlandomassacre,
saying armed civilianscouldhavesavedlivesbyshootingbackat
Mateen.
"If youhadsomegunsinthat club thenightthatthistook place,
ifyouhadgunson the other side,you wouldn't havehadthe
tragedythatyou had,"TrumpsaidduringhisownCNNinterview.
Later,hetoldradiohost Howie Carr:"Oneofthemany problems
withtheguncontrolisthatthebadguyswillhavetheguns.The
goodguyswon't."
AdayafterOrlandobecamehometothedeadliestmassshooting
inthenation'shistory,Florida'sgun-controllawscameunder
nationalscrutinyamidalargerdebateoverwhetherlegislationcan
everoffermuch protection againstarmedassailants.
Mateenunderwentafederalbackgroundchecktopurchasethe
AR-15andahandgunattheSt.LucieShootingCenter,andwas
clearedfora concealed-weapons permitbystateregulators,
accordingtoofficialsandmediareports.
Omar Mateen was last seen athis mosque
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OrlandoshootingbringsscrutinytoFloridaguncontrollaws|Miami Herald 6/14/161:04 PM
Friday night
Islamic Center ofFortPiercespokesman Adel NefzilastsawMateenatthe
mosque Fridaynight.Omar Mateen killed 49peopleinan Orlando club Sunday
morning.
Charles Trainor Jr.-ctrainor@miamiherald.com
u
I BELIEVE STRONGLYTHAT COMMON SENSE GUN-SAFETY REFORM
ACROSSOUR COUNTRY WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Hillary Clinton
"He was fingerprinted,he successfully completed the application,
hadacriminalbackground check/5 Florida Agriculture
CommissionerAdamPutnamsaidMonday."Thereisnothingin
thatrecordthatwouldhavedisqualifiedthisindividual,whowasa
U.S.citizen,who had a clean criminal record,who underwent a
backgroundcheckandmentalhealthscreening,fromreceiving
those licenses."
Some notorious mass shootings haveanAR-15astheir common
denominator:Theriflewas used in the 2012 SandyHook
elementary school shooting,where26 children and staff were
killed;inlast year's SanBernardinoshooting,where14were
killed;andinAurora,Colorado where12werekilled.NewYork
enacted itsAR-15baninthewakeofSandyHook,though
modifications to the rifles can allow sellers to evade the
restrictions.
Democratspointtostalledfederallegislationthatwouldbanthe
sale of AR-15s nationwide.But experts note loopholesfromthe
lasttime Washington triedtoclampdownonthesale of guns
capableoffiringdozensofbulletsinaminute'stime.
Gary Kleck,acriminologyprofessoratFloridaStateUniversity,
saidthefederalban,whichexpiredin 2004,wouldnothave
mademuchofadifferencein Mateen's gun-shoppingchoices.
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Orlando shooting brings scrutiny toFloridagun control laws|MiamiHerald 6/14/16,1:04PM
Victims remembered at makeshift memorial
A memorial on the lawn of the Seneff Art Plaza in downtown Orlando was
growing throughout thedayonMonday,June13,2016,aspeoplecametopay
theirrespectstothevictimsofthePulsenightclubshooting.
Emily Michot.-emichot@miamiherald.com
"Although theAR-15itselfwasbanned,theshooterstillwould
havebeenabletobuyan AR-15-type rifle,"Kleck wroteinan
email,"since copy-catversionsofthe AR-15 continuedtobe
availableforsaleaslongas they werenot identical tothe AR-15."
Asa semi-automatic rifle,the AR-15 fires onebulletwithevery
pullofthe trigger —aprocess that typically means 45roundsof
ammunition per minute.Mateeri's rampagehas been blamedon
49shootingdeathsandroughlyasmanywoundedvictims,though
thecircumstances of thekillingshavenotbeenfullyexplainedby
law-enforcement authorities.
Floridarequiresa three-day waitingperiodforpurchasing
handguns,butnotforso-called"longguns"likethe AR-15 and
otherrifles.Statelawalsorequirespermitstoconcealhandguns,
but permits aren't needed forrifleslikean AR-15.
"Wehave consistently ranked Florida atornearthe very bottom
intermsofhoweasyitisforadangerouspersontogainaccessto
a firearm,"said Brian Make,national policy directorforthe Brady
Campaignand Center toPreventGunViolence."Thethreshold
for permits isverylow."
MiamiHerald staff writer AmyShermancontributedtothis
report.
ThispostwasupdatedtochangetheAR-15'srate offire from
rounds persecondto rounds per minute,which isthe more typical
waytodescribethe weapon,
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