MSNBC host Ali Velshi mocked Florida gun laws in the wake of the Jacksonville shooting, but the accused attacker used a gun that was purchased in Maryland.
In fact, Jacksonville Sheriff Michael Williams indicated the attacker was armed with two handguns, a .45 and 9mm, and the ATF made clear both were legally purchased in Maryland.
But this did not top Velshi from taking on Florida gun laws in a video he tweeted out Tuesday.
Velshi pointed out that Florida does not have a licensing requirement for gun purchasers, a “firearm registration” requirement, nor does the state require a permit to carry a rifle. He contrasted the last point with the fact that the state does require a permit to carry a handgun, and he never mentioned the practicality of carrying a handgun versus a rifle.
Velshi also pointed out that the state of Florida does not allow cities and municipalities to institute gun laws that are more strict than the laws in place at the state level. This is called preemption, and the NRA-ILA reports that the state of Maryland “generally” limits local gun control in the same way.
Nevertheless, the alleged Jacksonville attacker did not buy his gun in Florida. He bought it in Maryland where he did have to get a license in order to buy the firearm, and he had to register it too. But these things did not hinder him in the least.
A few more interesting facts from the NRA-ILA: Like Florida, Maryland requires no license for long gun purchases, has no registration for long gun purchases, and does not have a “permit to carry” for long guns.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.