Hey, give the state some credit. At least they weren't allowed to vote!

It's ok, they're not allowed to own firearms. I think they'll have a hard time finding a good holster for an replica 18th-century flintlock.

Then again, a Ruger Old Army plus .45 Colt conversion cylinder is a easy, but expensive, way around that law.

So in Florida, non-felons don't get to vote, but felons do get to carry concealed weapons?

what a wacky state!

Mulva?

Hey! Leave Plorida alone!

If I ever create a fark sockpuppet account, I want dibs on Rhymes with blorida

I wouldn't worry. I'm sure they'll return the permits, and the weapons.

When guns are legal, only Glorida outlaws will hav...uhhh

Typical government incompetence. And people want them even more involved in our lives.

if someone got through the system, they probably had thier felony before computers(like 30 years ago) and haven't had one since......

Typical government incompetence.

You are the government. It is only as incompetent as you choose it to be.

I'm more worried about the government than the people with the guns.

I can't wait til Jeb inherits the family job in Washington.

If outlaws have guns, only guns will...wait, I farked up.

Blorida tag?

\got nuthin'

On the plus side, that's 1400 felons that had to provide their current address to the gubmint so their permit could be mailed to them. There is now very good probable cause for 1400 residence searches, with likely 1395 felons going back to slammersville.

Well, it's not much of a plus side, but at least you can make something of it.

zobear, Mugato

You can get a good look at a butcher's ass by...wait...

Worst headline EVAR!!!11!

Joke's on the submitter, Blorida isn't a word. So there.

So the Second Amendment doesn't apply to felons? Are they not citizens?

/ducks

WCPGW?

I cant guess what state it is, but have narrowed it down to 2. Is it Glorida or Vlorida? It's definately not Blorida, since thats not a word.

because felons didn't have any other way to get guns besides having government permits, we should all panic.

plausdeny

On the plus side, that's 1400 felons that had to provide their current address to the gubmint so their permit could be mailed to them. There is now very good probable cause for 1400 residence searches, with likely 1395 felons going back to slammersville.

Well, it's not much of a plus side, but at least you can make something of it.

The state will be fine with taking the guns back, and getting the ones that were on parole back in jail, but the ones that were released after serving all of their time and are not on probation have a legitimate fight in court... the prosecution is going to argue they broke the law, the defense will argue that if the state a state cannot issue a permit to break the law, and since the state issued the permit, it effectively consented to this person carrying a firearm. Frankly, if I was a juror, I'd acquit... sorry state, if you tell someone they can't do something, then you tell them they can, you can't blame them for misunderstanding you.

I think it's funny that states that give out gun permits to felons, place children in the custody of coked up state employees, and outright lose children want to have a say in who it is I marry. Because gosh, I just know they are going to pick well, given their demonstrated competence.

jwaldie

As a native speaker of English, I feel it necessary to inform you that Vlorida is not a plausible/possible word in English, whereas Blorida and Glorida are. Might I suggest Velourida or some such compromise?

Befuddled: You are the government. It is only as incompetent as you choose it to be.

If you were referring to the politicians, I would agree. But that is not what I was referring to.

Government incompetence is largely a product of everyday people (half of whom are statistically below average mind you) in the beauracracy going about their average lives in the sloppy, lazy and "don't-give-a-fark" manner that most of the rest of us go through ours.

They are unelected and they withstand changes in political turnover. "I" am as much a part of that government as I am a part of McDonald's.

Think of the most dysfunctional corporation you know. Imagine Dilbert ten times over. Now, put that corporation in charge of important stuff like...giving felons guns, or invading Middle Eastern countries.

It also rhymes with horrider, as in

Florida's horrider than Whitley Bay,
There's no McEwan's Export in the USA
...
Goodbye Mickey Mouse, hello Tyne and Wier,
States nice place, shame about the beer.

Oldiron_79: if someone got through the system, they probably had thier felony before computers(like 30 years ago) and haven't had one since......

The list included registered sex offenders (registration is fairly recent), people named in active domestic violence injunctions, and people with outstanding warrants. Obvious government snafu.

/I'm just wondering why this link is to the Las Vegas Sun.

"bleeding-heart, criminal-coddling judges and prosecutors"

Soooo, basically, you're blaming liberals for letting people have guns? Nice.

I love this home state of mine, I really do.

/sarcasm

If they can walk free and vote, they should have the same rights as the rest of us. If they can't be trusted, then why the hell are they alive/not in prison?

Marion Hammer, a Tallahassee lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, blamed law enforcement gaps, "bleeding-heart, criminal-coddling judges and prosecutors" for missteps that put guns in the hands of criminals.

Sounds like a valid concern. The laws are on the books, it's up to the judges to actually know and uphold them.


Critics, however, say the NRA pressures lawmakers to ignore the problem.

Um, let's think about this.. "The NRA is evil because they ask somebody I elected to do something, and they did it! Won't somebody please think of the children?" Sounds like maybe you should elect somebody with stronger convictions next time. It's not the NRA's fault that politicians are for sale. They're just like any other special interest group; they're not to blame, but the politicians who sell out are.

I'm so bad at capitals. Ummm,, uuh,, Bismark?

Someone please make a Blorida tag...

Please?

I can't believe 1400 felons would waste time getting permits when they could have driven around Miami and bought some fine pieces out of the trunk of some hood's car. I guess that's why they're felons, no brains.

Well, an armed society is a polite society. Maybe giving felons guns is part of their reform.

Florida means flowery in Spanish.

First, the felons can be prosecuted for lying on the application form. It does ask if they've ever been convicted of a felony. Well, unless they answered yes and the state still issued.

Second, any felons who manage to get through the permit background check would also have no problem getting through the NICS check. Getting the permit is actually a lesser step compared to that, assuming the felon is still intending to commit criminal acts using said firearm, instead of just using it for self-defense like the rest of the permit holders.

"If they can walk free and vote, they should have the same rights as the rest of us. If they can't be trusted, then why the hell are they alive/not in prison?"

They can't vote. They are convicted felons. When you commit a felony, you lose some rights for life.

First of all, if you do the math, that's less than 1/3 of one percent (or in laymen's terms 3 felons out of 1000 permits). Sure errors of this nature are bad, but for a government program, that's a pretty good percentage.
Secondly, most states with concealed carry laws (and I suspect Florida is one of them) specifically state that having the permit doesn't grant you the right to have a gun, but to carry it concealed if you do have one. They haven't given the crooks permission to carry guns by issuing them a permit.

I have a Florida Concealed Weapons Permit.

Its not to hard to get. You have to get a passport picture taken, take a class, get fingerprinted, and pay I think it was $150. A few weeks later you get your license.

This article has more details.

None of the criminals have felony convictions on their records because of a process in Florida where a judge can "withhold adjudication" as part of a plea agreement.

Basically, there are some cases where if they plead guilty or no contest, serve probation, do community service, obtain counseling, pay fines, and other crap, the felony conviction is essentially erased.

Because they do not have a felony on their record, they can legally apply for and receive a license to carry a concealed firearm.

Blorida.?
/This got greenlit?
//That's the dumbest farkin rhyme try I've ever heard.
///Glorida, at least Gun begins with a G

TechieZero

It's actually $117 for the first 5 years, and you're fingerprinted because the state sends the prints to the FDLE and FBI to see if there is anything in their databases that should preclude the issuance of a license. If there's not a felony conviction, then as Marion Hammer says, it's not really fair to deprive them of their rights - it becomes a slippery slope.

wrffr nailed it - the problem isn't that the concealed carry law is too lax, it's that the courts are letting people walk with a guilty plea but no felony conviction. While concealed-carry permits are a convenient whipping boy for the media, the concern is just as valid for other situations - I'd not be surprised if someone could still get a teaching job with a similar criminal record, for instance.