Turning a right into a privilege that can be revoked by bureaucrats

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Friday, April 27, 2012

Tampa’s City Council wants Governor Rick Scott to pass an executive order banning concealed carry rights to coincide with protests at the Republican National Convention later this year.

“The thousands of protesters expected at the Democratic and Republican national conventions can come armed with a lot more than signs and slogans: State law in Florida and North Carolina allows concealed weapons, including guns,” reports the Sacramento Bee.

“The Tampa City Council wants Scott to issue an executive order, preventing people with concealed weapons permits from carrying guns.”

The executive order is required because according to Florida law, local officials are prohibited from pre-empting state gun statutes.

This move represents yet another effort to turn a right into a privilege and creates the pretext that fundamental liberties can be revoked by local bureaucrats when the mood takes them.

We’ve seen a similar assault on free speech rights with protesters being forced to ask the authorities for permits to exercise rights already guaranteed under the First Amendment.

Indeed, authorities in Tampa are already set to designate a “Clean Zone” where protesters are allowed to demonstrate. Although it hasn’t been decided where in relation to the actual RNC event this “Clean Zone” will be located, it’s normally kept well away from the central hub of activity, making it virtually worthless in terms of generating media attention.

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Council member Lisa Montelione’s claim made in a letter to Scott that the gun ban is necessary to “prevent a potential tragedy” is completely at odds with the facts which show Florida’s total violent crime rate has dropped 32% and its homicide rate has dropped 58% since enacting concealed carry, figures mirrored across the rest of the country.

Authorities in Florida are relying on the fallout from the Trayvon Martin case to push their anti-Second Amendment policies despite the fact that evidence clearly indicates George Zimmerman properly exercised his right to self-defense after being attacked.

The use of executive orders to crush constitutional rights and undermine the democratic process is a trend that has emanated from the federal level.

Earlier this week the New York Times reported on how Obama had personally invented the slogan “We Can’t Wait” to characterize his intention to “aggressively use executive power to govern in the face of Congressional obstructionism.” In other words, Obama simply “can’t wait” to bypass Congress and use executive privilege to advance his political agenda.

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Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show and Infowars Nightly News.

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