Attorney Tells Why HB 503 Needs To Pass

THIS EMAIL WAS SENT TO ALL <ST1:STATE w:st="on">FLORIDA</ST1:STATE> SENATORS FROM AN <ST1:CITY w:st="on"><ST1:PLACE w:st="on">ORLANDO</ST1:PLACE></ST1:CITY> ATTORNEY.  PLEASE READ IT.... AND SHARE IT. 

If anyone has ever had any doubts of the importance of the Guns-Locked-In-Your-Car bill, this letter should remove all doubt.

Dear Senator Webster (and colleagues):

Last week, I urged you to support SB 1130, the "Preservation and Protection of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles Act of 2008."  I understand that the Senate has now adopted the House version of the bill, HB 503, and it will come up for a final vote next week.  I wanted to share with you a real-world example of why this law is needed.

In my practice as an attorney in <ST1:CITY w:st="on"><ST1:PLACE w:st="on">Orlando</ST1:PLACE></ST1:CITY>, I received a call yesterday from a 61 year old woman, who was in tears.  She had just been suspended from her job.  Her employer, an insurance agency, advised her that they were made aware that she had a concealed weapon or firearm license and she kept a firearm locked in her vehicle for self-protection.  This was unacceptable to her employer and she was sent home.  She was told that she could only return to work if she would write and sign a pledge that she would never again have a firearm locked in her vehicle at any time she was at the office or away from the office on company business.

She asked me what I could do to help her.  Unfortunately, I was helpless.  Without the protections offered by HB 503, this woman's employer has the power to make her choose between her livelihood and her personal safety.  She has worked for this agency for several years, and now must either find another job, or give up her right to protect herself everywhere she travels during the day, from the time she leaves the house to go to work, until the time she gets back home.  As a 61 year old woman, neither of these options is attractive.  Finding a new job may prove difficult or impossible; becoming an elderly unarmed potential victim may prove fatal.

HB 503 is designed to protect the rights of the people of <ST1:STATE w:st="on"><ST1:PLACE w:st="on">Florida</ST1:PLACE></ST1:STATE> from exactly this kind of interference.  This happens every day.  It happened yesterday while this bill was being debated in the Senate.  It will continue to happen until this bill becomes a law.  Please keep this woman and the others like her in mind, and please support the passage of HB 503.

I support this legislation as an attorney, as a business owner, as a District 9 voter, and as a responsible citizen of the State of <ST1:PLACE w:st="on"><ST1:STATE w:st="on">Florida</ST1:STATE></ST1:PLACE>.  If you have any questions about my experiences which have led me to support this legislation, please do not hesitate to call me.

Ernest J. Myers, Esq.
Marcus, McMahon & Myers, P.L.
<ST1:ADDRESS w:st="on"><ST1:STREET w:st="on">255 S. Orange Avenue, Suite 1250</ST1:STREET>
<ST1:CITY w:st="on">Orlando</ST1:CITY>, <ST1:STATE w:st="on">FL</ST1:STATE>  <ST1:POSTALCODE w:st="on">32801</ST1:POSTALCODE></ST1:ADDRESS>
Telephone: 407-447-2550
Facsimile: 407-447-2551
[email protected]<O:P></O:P>

Please continue to check www.NRAILA.org for updates on this important self-defense bill.<O:P></O:P>