by Matt Barr

Welcome to the Sunshine State! BANG

Via The American Princess we find this.

Welcome to Florida, but avoid arguments or thanks to a new law you run the risk of getting shot, according to an ad campaign launched by a gun-control group.

The campaign coincides with a state law that enters into effect authorizing gun owners to shoot anyone in a public area who they believe threaten their safety....

[T]he Washington DC-based Brady Campaign to Control Gun Violence... will run ads in US and British newspapers warning tourists planning to visit Florida that a "nervous and frightened" Florida resident could shoot to kill. "Warning: Florida residents can use deadly force," the ad states.

"If you are involved in a traffic accident or near-miss, remain in your car and keep your hands in plain sight. If someone appears to be angry with you, maintain to the best of your ability a positive attitude, and do not shout or make threatening gestures," the ad reads.

The Brady Campaign promises to also run ads in French, German and Japanese newspapers if they can stretch their budget. They also plan to hand out fliers and post signs on the Florida highways with the warnings.

"I can't understand why anybody would be opposed to telling visitors what the law is," said [Brady Campaign spokesman Peter] Hamm. "No state in America has ever passed a law like this one."

The Brady Campaign is "not telling anybody that they shouldn't visit Florida. My family and I vacation in Florida every Easter and were intending to do so. But I'm going to make sure that none of the people in my family get into a loud argument while we are there," he said.

TAP calls bullshit, rightly so. But this is such a rich source of fertilizer.

Imagine an ad campaign that said:

A law in the Sunshine State authorizes frightened or traumatized women to kill their unborn babies on demand.

In Florida, avoid having sex.

I can't understand why anybody would be opposed to telling visitors what the law is!

Also Peter Hamm should man up. I'm sure he does intend on vacationing in Florida at Easter, because he knows his organization isn't exactly "telling visitors what the law is." The "Stand Your Ground" law removes a cause of action on the part of injured criminals. Previously, Florida law said that before using potentially deadly force, a victim had to avail herself of every opportunity to flee the situation first. That meant if a "nervous or frightened" person injured an attacker, the attacker could sue and prevail if he could prove the victim didn't try hard enough to escape first.

This law modifies no one's behavior but criminals'. No one about to be raped or pistol whipped is going to calculate the odds they're going to be sued and lose before acting, and most of them aren't going to root around for every escape route, like a quarterback reading his receivers, till they're sure they've given their attacker a sporting enough chance not to be hurt themselves.

Evidently, the pro-Second Amendment people have been unsuccessful educating the public on this.

Mr. Hamm will take that opening, but he could at least be honest about it. They're not telling anyone not to visit Florida? By buying ads in newspapers in five countries telling people they could be shot in an argument there?

No one ever went blind or lost a limb from a little progaganda, but if that's what you're spreading, don't hold your hands up and say "who, me?"

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