Supreme Court Gun Ruling Sparks Debate

BROOKSVILLE - Before Thursday, it was illegal to own a handgun if you were a Washington, D.C., resident.

If you drove 700 miles south along Interstate 95 and settled in Florida, you could legally keep a firearm in the car while at the office - as long as you owned the proper permit.

That is one indication of the wide political gap between Washingtonians and Floridians, yet the issue of gun ownership sparks debate everywhere.

The dispute about gun rights has raged in the wake of Thursday's 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court to strike down Washington, D.C.'s, ban on handgun ownership. In effect, the justices ruled the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to own guns for self-defense.

"It's a good day," said Randie Rickert, president of the Hernando Sportsman's Club, a local gun organization. "It's amazing liberals still don't understand the Constitution. It was written in very basic English."

"It's a sad day," countered Hernando County Democratic Executive Committee Chairman Jay Rowden. "A lot of people take this right to carry arms a little too far."

The court also decided it unconstitutional that the District of Columbia required shotguns and rifles in the home be disassembled, unloaded or fitted with a trigger lock.

On the National Rifle Association Web site, the group's executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, called the decision "a great moment in American history."

Joe Lemieux's son moved to New York for a job. He left his gun behind. Sometime later, he asked his dad to sell it.

Lemieux, who owns Green Bean Organic Market in Spring Hill, did some research. Before he sold it to a stranger, he wanted to know what he was legally required to do. He was shocked when he found out there were no restrictions.

"I thought, 'You've got to be kidding me,'" he said. "There's no record of this. It could change hands five times before somebody uses it to kill someone."

Rickert pointed to statistics showing cities with the strictest gun laws typically have the highest crime rate. The more you do to keep guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens, the more criminals will take advantage, he said.

He is a Detroit native and recalled a law some years ago that required all people to have a "purchase permit" before buying a handgun. Sometimes the process would take five weeks. Many were rejected.

"Detroit had very heavy gun control," he said. "There were about 700 people a year who were shot and killed. It was like the Wild West. It was hard to get a gun."

Rowden thinks Washington's history of violent crime warranted the gun ban.

A federal judge on Wednesday in Tallahassee refused to stop a state law that allows for employees with concealed-weapons permits to keep guns in their parked cars while at work. The law was signed in April by Gov. Charlie Crist.

"It boggles my mind to think it's OK to bring your gun to work," Rowden said. He reinforced his point by referring to the fatal shooting Tuesday at a Kentucky plastics factory that left six people dead.

Lemieux describes himself as an independent who has voted for Republicans and Democrats in the past. He believes a person has a right to own a gun for the sake of self-defense, but has reservations about giving citizens too much freedom with firearms.

"Will this decision cut down on these statistics (in D.C.) or will it exacerbate it?" he asked.

It was meant to be a rhetorical question, but when he was asked to give his opinion, he paused for a second.

"The easier you make it for people to get their hands on guns, the worse off you're going to be," Lemieux said.