A “warning shot” bill to grant immunity to Florida gun owners who point their defensive handgun at an attacker was approved Thursday by the Florida Senate, 32-7.
The warning shot bill has been a hot topic for gun clubs in The Villages. But the laws, both past and present, have been confusing.
If the governor eventually signs the bill into law, it would be a positive, said a Villages gun club president.
“If you threaten to shoot a person in a self defense mode, but you don’t shoot, you haven’t broken any laws. You haven’t committed an illegal display of a weapon,” said Villager Loren Collett of the Cool Gun Club.
“In the end it’s a good thing. If someone is breaking into your house and you rack your shotgun and they run you won’t be charged. Before if you had displayed your gun you could have been charged.”
The Cool Gun Club will meet at 7 p.m. Friday April 4, at Mulberry Grove Recreation Center. The topics to be covered will be Florida’s Illegal Display of a Weapon and the Open Carry Statute. That meeting is open to any and all Villagers.
SB 448 would grant immunity to Florida gun owners who point their defensive handgun at an attacker. The bill also intends to fix issues that arise due to the Florida law which requires mandatory sentencing for certain gun crimes.
Under Florida’s “10-20-Life” law, certain gun crimes can be punishable by at least 10 years in prison and others may be punishable for 20 years or longer if the weapon is actually fired.
