If you wish to exercise your rights under the 2nd Amendment and you live in my state, Florida, there are some things you will need to do.
You’ll need to take a firearms safety course and prove you are able to safely handle a weapon. The class will cost around $50 plus range fees.
You will complete a lengthy application requiring extensive personal information. Falsification of this application is a criminal offense. You will need the application notarized. $10
With your application you will include a passport style photo and your fingerprints, which must be taken at a law enforcement agency. Photo $5, finger prints $10. Note that the most common delay is a fingerprint card that has been smudged in processing. When this happens you will provide another card at your expense.
The fee to the state for the application is $117. And if you’re smart, you’ll send all this by registered mail.
Then you wait. If approved, your permit will likely arrive in about 90 days, but can take longer depending on various delays (like having to obtain a new fingerprint card.)
Once you have your permit, you will be required to know and abide by all laws pertaining to your weapon. Should you violate those laws, you can expect serious trouble.
This process varies from state to state, but around the country you will most likely find similar requirements.
Now, imagine for just a moment, what might happen if we were to require citizens to do all this in order to exercise another right – like voting.
Imagine the uproar if we were to impose requirements like this before allowing someone to cast a vote. There would be rioting in the streets. Charges of racism would be deafening. We would hear stories of those too poor to pay the price and those too feeble to comply. How cruel to rob these people of their fundamental rights.
And yet, here’s something else to think about:
The 2nd Amendment is quite clear. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
But what does our Constitution say about our right to vote? Where is that noted?
It’s not there. No affirmative right to vote exists in our Constitution. Our founders never intended a universal right to vote in federal elections. And so they didn’t put it in our Constitution.
Just a couple of things to think about when people are yelling at you about their fundamental rights.
-Kathy
Kathy, isn’t that procedure for a carry permit? Unless something has changed, there is no permit necessary to buy a handgun or a rifle.
Yes, I was talking about obtaining a CWP. Maybe I should have been more clear.
-Kathy
There are many examples of the government imposing costs and specific ID requirements for doing all sorts of things not nearly as important as registering and casting a vote. But, don’t forget, this is the same government which tells us that after 25 years of refusing to enforce our immigration laws, it’s entirely too difficult and expensive to round up these millions of illegal aliens and deport them. Further, the vast majority of these people really haven’t broken any laws, they are just seeking a more prosperous life. Right. And if 11 million American citizens decide to stop paying income taxes because they need that money to seek a more prosperous life, the government is just going to ignore them for 25 years or so and then dither over what to do. Right.
I have never seen our illustrious free press ask the Democrats, or Obama, any questions about voter i.d. Most questions on the subject are set-up questions to make the Republicans look bad. I can’t even imagine what we would hear if someone really started asking questions, but I’m sure there would be humor and irony.