What is so scarey to me from the Trayvon Martin/Zimmerman trial was the fact the lawyer for Zimmerman,
O'Mara, made a point of saying something like this:

"You can legally claim self-defense in FL without getting so much as a cut on your own finger."

There is no evidence whatsoever needed to claim you shot a gun in self- defense. You shoot. The other witness is dead. And whomever is
left standing can say: "Self-defense."

FL is a really dangerous place, IMO.

But, if you are OK with one million concealed weapons permits, by all means move to FL and
vacation there.

However, if you are not, maybe you should seriously think about not going there any more -- and not spending your money there.

You know, except for when they do.

But you see, they never get convicted of anything, ergo they are not criminals!

More guns!

I think it's one in every 14 eligible people in FL has a gun permit/gun.

If Zimmerman did not have a loaded gun that night, as almost everyone has noticed, Trayvon Martin would still be alive.

One legal analyst said: "I read a tweet that pointed out it would have been great if Zimmerman had stopped his vehicle that night and asked Trayvon if he needed a ride in the rain."

It is a very different world in FL with a million guns around. And pointing at whomever is in view.

Most just get the permits to keep a firearm in their vehicle legally.

If you're not going to have it on your person secure it properly...and a glovebox isn't secure.

I realize law-abiding people have used guns responsibly to thwart crime in certain instances, but, if you are a parent with young kids,
or you are just a person who does not want to be in the Wild West with a bunch of gun owners like Zimmerman, then, seriously,
you have to consider these issues when you decide where you will vacation, or live or retire.

Not every state has a million gun permits out there. Not every state has these condo commandos / armed neighbor watch people who will shoot, like Zimmerman. Some people in this country still live in places where you do call the police and the police do come, and the local police do not burst in shooting and are honest. There are still towns like that in this country; I do believe that.

You just have to decide and consider what goes on in FL. And it does happen elsewhere, too, I am sure. But FL is really out there, as we have all seen, time and time again.

I remember when Rosie O'Donnell moved to Miami FL a few years ago, and there were magazine covers showing her new huge house
and her new neighbor, Gloria Estefan.

And then, suddenly, Rosie O'Donnell was shocked to learn: she could not adopt in FL because she is a gay parent and the FL law prohibited her from adopting.

Outraged, she was shocked the GOP FL Legislature did not immediately change the law at her request.

So, she had to: pack up, sell her house, and move to a place where she could adopt. (I think a gay male couple struggled for years in FL and did eventually get the law changed.)

But that is what I am trying to say: you really have to consider facts about a place, especially a state like FL, before you move there, vacation there or retire there.

A million gun permit holders in FL is something to consider.

http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/04/23/12542/firearm-ownership-rises-florida-gun-murders-increase

As firearm ownership rises, Florida gun murders increase

By Eric BartonFlorida Center for Investigative Reporting

6:00 am, April 23, 2013 Updated: 4:53 pm, July 5, 2013

Excerpt:

Murders by firearms have increased dramatically in the state since 2000, when there were 499 gun murders, according to data from Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Gun murders have since climbed 38 percent — with 691 murders committed with guns in 2011.

Only partial numbers are available for 2012, but from January to June, there were 479 murders in Florida — 358 of them committed with a gun. That’s an 8 percent increase in gun murders compared to the same period in 2011.

Guns are now the weapons of choice in 75 percent of all homicides in Florida. That’s up from 56 percent in 2000.

The rise in gun homicides in Florida comes at a time when the overall murder rate has declined in Florida, and violent crime has dropped statewide....

http://csgv.org/blog/2008/the-latest-from-the-gunshine-state/

Home » Blog » Bullet Counter Points » The Latest from the Gunshine State

The Latest from the Gunshine State

Permissive Gun Laws Fail to Prevent Dramatic Increase in Violent Gun Crime

Florida has long been known as a state with loose gun laws. A €œShall Issue € state for concealed carry permits (meaning that local law enforcement must issue a concealed weapons license to an applicant if he/she passes a background check and meets modest safety/training requirements), Florida is also notable for being the first state to pass a €œShoot First € law at the behest of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The 2005 law expanded Floridians €™ right to use deadly force in self-defense inside and outside the home and eliminated any duty to retreat (if possible) before resorting to the use of such force.

The NRA and other pro-gun groups have praised these laws, arguing that the more than 400,000 Floridians who have obtained concealed carry permits will make their state safer because criminals will be concerned that potential victims could be packing heat. As the gun lobby frequently claims, €œan armed society is a polite society. € Skeptics were even told that these laws would deter rapists by arming women and giving them the freedom to fight back.

Recent statistics from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, however, have cast serious doubt on these claims. The figures for 2007 show an 11.5% increase in gun murders, a 25% increase in armed robberies with guns, and a 20% increase in forcible rapes in which a gun was used. Notably, the overall violent crime rate in the state went up by only 1.4 percent in 2007.

These statistics demonstrate a point that Harvard researcher David Hemenway has often made. America is not unique in its overall level of violent crime. What separates us from other industrialized democracies is that American violence tends to end in death; and that is because we own more guns per capita than any other high income country. Looking at Florida €™s 2007 statistics again, the overall murder rate went up by 6.5%, but murders in which a knife was used actually decreased by 24%. Easy access to guns in the state is responsible for the discrepancy, as it makes crime more lethal.

Perhaps Florida €™s permissive gun laws are arming criminals and violent individuals in addition to law-abiding citizens. It was only a little over a year ago that the Orlando Sun-Sentinel released a bombshell report indicting the failures of Florida €™s concealed carry permitting process. In a 2007 article, the Sentinel revealed that Florida €™s CCW list included more than 1,400 people who pleaded guilty or no contest to felonies, 216 people with outstanding warrants, 128 people with active domestic violence injunctions against them, and six registered sex offenders. In response, the Florida legislature passed a bill banning the public and press from accessing this information in the future.

Recent action by Florida €™s elected officials has been equally puzzling. First, Governor Charlie Crist refused to make any comment on the increase in gun crime. Then, on April 9, the Florida legislature finalized its approval of a bill that will prohibit businesses from preventing those with concealed carry permits from keeping handguns and assault rifles locked in their cars at work. The governor has indicated he will sign the bill, despite the intense opposition of business interests in the state.

Florida €™s elected officials are clearly eager to please the gun lobby. Are they up to the task of protecting their citizens, ensuring public safety and protecting individual rights? A serious effort in this area would begin with measures to prevent criminal access to firearms and to respect the interests of private property owners who do not want firearms on their premises.

More guns, less crime? Not in sunny Florida €¦

My aticle says:

http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/04/23/12542/firearm-ownership-rises-florida-gun-murders-increase

As firearm ownership rises, Florida gun murders increase

By Eric BartonFlorida Center for Investigative Reporting

6:00 am, April 23, 2013 Updated: 4:53 pm, July 5, 2013

Florida Statewide Murder by Firearm, 1971 - 2012.
SOURCE: Florida Department of Law Enforcement. (2013). Crime in Florida, 1971-2012 Florida uniform crime report [Computer program]. Tallahassee, FL: FDLE.
http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/getdoc/332e1b3d-2648-4b06-8be5-d322f340c95d/1971_fwd_murder_firearms.aspx

Notice that in 1971 Florida had a population of 7,041,074 and there were 628 murders caused by firearms and therefore a rate of 13.2 per 100,000.

In 1981 the population of Florida had increased to 10,097,754 and there were 890 murders caused by firearms for a rate of 15.1 per 100,000.

In 2012 the population of Florida had soared to 19,074,434 and there were 721 murders caused by firearms for a rate of only 5.3 per 100,000.

Firearm ownership has skyrocketed in Florida but so has the population of the state.

"Shall Issue" concealed carry did not become law until 1987 and until that time only a few privileged people were allowed to carry firearms often limited to the counties they lived in. In 1987 the population of Florida was 12,043,608 and there were 697 murders caused by firearms for a rate of 11.4 per 100,000 which is more than twice the rate in 2012.

Currently there are 1,115,981 valid Florida concealed weapons permits but 140,166 permits belong to residents of other states, Therefore 975,815 resident Floridians can legally carry a firearm throughout the state with certain limitations if they choose.

You could argue that there were 99 more firearm murders in 2012 than there were in 1971 which would ignore the fact that the population of Florida has increased by 12,033,360 or almost tripled. The number of murders by firearms is just one of several factors to consider. A more realistic approach is to consider the murder rate per 100,000 caused by firearms.

Let's look at your article as it states:



In 2000 there were indeed 499 gun murders according to FDLE data but since then the population of Florida has increased by 3,092,056. The firearm murder rate per 100,000 in 2000 was 5.6. The data from the FDLE also agrees that there were 691 firearm murders in 2011 but the firearm murder rate per 100,000 actually dropped to 5.2 per 100,000 because of the population increase.

To be honest, I have to admit that even I am surprised that gun sales and the number of concealed weapons permits can skyrocket in Florida but the firearm murder rate per 100,000 can still drop. To add some frosting to the cake, the overall firearm violence rate is at an all time low.