Guns At Work: Frequently Asked Questions

April 25, 2007

Is the Florida Chamber Anti-Gun, Anti-Second Amendment? The Florida Chamber is strongly pro-gun and pro-Second Amendment.

The Florida Chamber currently allows guns on its property and has hunters and gun owners throughout its management, board and members.

Why Did The Florida Chamber fight against 2nd Amendment Rights?

We didn’t. HB 1417/SB 2356 entitled the Individual Personal Property Act prohibited employers from having policies that limit any “legal products” on their property. Marion Hammer, NRA, stated in committee “This is not about the 2nd Amendment.” She along with Rich Templin, AFL-CIO, testifi ed that the bill was about “privacy rights.”

If NRA supported this bill, isn’t it an important gun issue?

The NRA teamed with the AFL-CIO and the Trial Lawyers to support what they called a “privacy rights” bill and actively attacked businesses and property owners for trying to retain their current right to decide who and what come on their property. In the original bill, explosives and pornography would have been allowed in plain view at day care centers and churches.

Why did the NRA sell out to unions and trial lawyers to push a bill that allowed union promotional materials and pornography on someone else’s private property?

We have no idea, but we’re glad the legislature voted 10-4 to stop this big government intrusion into private property rights.

Didn’t big businesses bully legislators into voting against this bill?

The Florida Chamber membership is 80 percent small businesses. And 95 percent of our membership felt that the current law allowing property owners to decide to allow guns was the way it should be.
Even gun owners throughout Florida think that property owners “should be able to decide what things are brought onto their property.” If you don’t like the rules a homeowner sets on his/her property then don’t go there.