Miami, Jan 19 (EFE).- The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to an old state law that does not allow local officials to approve gun control regulations, a case filed before the highest court for more than of 30 cities and counties following the deadly Parkland shooting in 2018.
“It is not a central municipal function to occupy an area that the Legislature has preempted, and local governments have no discretion or legal authority to enact ordinances that violate state preference,” Judge Ricky Polston wrote in a 25-page document reflecting the majority ruling (5-1) issued this Thursday by the state Supreme Court.
Since 1987, local governments in Florida have been prohibited from passing any gun regulations that are stricter than current state firearms laws.
Later, in 2011, another law bolstered its predecessor with fines of up to $5,000 for enacting new gun regulations at the city or county level.
But following the 2018 mass shooting that left 17 people dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, more than 30 cities and counties and dozens of local officials challenged the 2011 rule.
In 2021, the Florida First District Court of Appeals upheld the law, prompting cities and counties to turn to the state Supreme Court.
The case stems from three lawsuits filed by various cities and counties, including Gainesville, Tallahassee, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach and St. Petersburg.
Although unrelated to the 1987 law, the challenge does argue that the sanctions enacted in the 2011 legislation are unconstitutional.
Last June, the judges of the Florida Supreme Court heard the arguments of the case once morest the state, led by the former commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Democrat Nikki Fried.
The president of the Supreme Court, Charles Canady, then pointed to a specific line of the Constitution that establishes that local governments can exercise power “except as otherwise provided by law.”
“Our cases are very clear regarding the superiority of the legislature in this area. So this whole case is a bit perplexing to me, because what the underlying legislature has done is this express constitutional provision,” Canady said.
This Thursday’s ruling was a “hard blow” for 33 cities and counties, and dozens of local officials who argued that the sanctions of the 2011 law were unconstitutional, according to the local media CBS4.
He adds that this is a victory for state Republican leaders and Second Amendment advocates such as the National Rifle Association (NRA). EFE
skirt/emi/szg
� EFE 2023. The redistribution and redistribution of all or part of the contents of Efe services is expressly prohibited, without the prior and express consent of Agencia EFE SA
