Front Sight, Press

Lawmakers propose new penalties for using assault weapon in crime

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) People who use assault weapons to commit crimes and even gun dealers who sell the rifles to lawbreakers would face tougher penalties under new legislation, proposed in response to a spate of violence with the high-powered firearms.

Under the proposed bills, a person using a semiautomatic or automatic weapon for a crime would face a first-degree felony with a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison. If the crime results in a death or serious injury, the person would face a mandatory life sentence.

The bills would expand Florida’s 10-20-life law, which provides for minimum mandatory sentences of 10 years for committing a crime with a firearm and 20 years if the weapon is discharged. If that results in injury or death, the minimum penalty is 25 years, and the maximum is life.

Sen. Gwen Margolis, D-Sunny Isles Beach, and Rep. Evan Jenne, D-Dania Beach, have filed matching bills (SB 782/HB 425) that would also hold gun sellers responsible.

If a person buys or sells a semiautomatic or automatic weapon using false identification or identity theft, both the buyer and seller would face a mandatory second-degree felony with up to 15 years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines…  Source

So if, perchance you defended yourself with a semi-auto, like a Glock, and the trial didn’t go your way, you could end up doing 25 years. If a gun dealer is duped with a stolen identity on a sale, he could go to jail for 25 years minimum. Would you want to stay in the gun business with laws like this hanging over your head? Probably not.

“If this law were in place, we might have been able to stop the killer before a good officer lost his life,” Margolis said of Jose Somohano, a four-year police veteran gunned down last year by a Margate man who had purchased an AK-47 using false identification. Source

Sadly, this is just nonsense. The penalties for murder in Florida are already quite high — up to and including execution, with special provisions for those who murder law enforcement officers. Unfortunately, these extreme penalties did not deter this shooter one iota.

Marion Hammer, the NRA’s lobbyist, called the proposal “political eyewash,” saying it isn’t needed and has flaws that could put innocent people at risk of being charged with a crime. “They claim the intent is to increase penalties,” she said. “I would suggest to you the penalties they are trying to increase are not necessary. It’s already a 15-year penalty for using semiautomatics for the commission or attempted commission of a crime. If you kill somebody with one, it’s already life.” Source