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Friday, March 29, 2024

City sued over weapons ban ahead of Richard Spencer event

The City of Gainesville is now facing a lawsuit over its ban on weapons, including tasers, knives and mace, during white supremacist Richard Spencer’s appearance at UF.

Pro-gun nonprofit Florida Carry Inc. filed the suit Oct. 20 and argued the city acted outside its authority in banning weapons in downtown Gainesville and the designated areas near where Spencer spoke at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

Florida Carry, represented by Jacksonville attorney Eric J. Friday, claims the city is superseded by the Florida Legislature in regulating possession of weapons by people who own a state-authorized concealed carry license, according to the lawsuit. The group argues when Gov. Rick Scott declared a countywide state of emergency ahead of Spencer’s speaking event, only he or the state could then implement a weapons ban, not the city.

“Defendants know, or should know, that they are without authority to regulate the bearing of arms, as only the Legislature may regulate the bearing of arms,” the lawsuit reads, citing the Florida Constitution.

The group who filed doesn’t seek money but a declaration of wrongdoing by the city, according to the suit. Florida Carry is also directing the suit toward City Manager Anthony Lyons, who drafted the city’s emergency orders in the days leading up to Spencer’s appearance.

City officials declined to comment, saying the litigation is still pending.

Florida Carry filed a similar lawsuit in October of 2013 against the University of North Florida when former student Alexandria Lainez argued she had the right to leave a firearm in her car on campus.

The First District Court of Appeal ruled that while UNF could ban weapons inside a class or sporting event, it could not withhold individuals from keeping firearms close by, such as in a parked car, The Florida Times Union reported.

The group argues the order prevents its members, “who live in, work in, travel through, or visit the City of Gainesville,” from exercising their constitutional right, according to the lawsuit.

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