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To: Iron Munro
All those ordinances have been illegal for years because state law prevents cities and counties from regulating guns. But a new law, set to take effect Oct. 1, takes it a step further. It allows judgments of up to $100,000 against local governments that enforce such laws. And, in an unusual move, the law also says local officials could be fired and fined $5,000, with no representation from the city or county attorney.

I see that Florida avoided the mistake that New Hampshire made. The law demands certain behavior with respect to guns from our cities and towns, but some of them simply ignore the law because there is no statutory penalty, only a civil cause of action on the part of the victim who has to pay their own way in order to enforce the law.

20 posted on 09/01/2011 8:26:05 AM PDT by mvpel (Michael Pelletier)
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To: mvpel
The law demands certain behavior with respect to guns from our cities and towns, but some of them simply ignore the law because there is no statutory penalty, only a civil cause of action on the part of the victim who has to pay their own way in order to enforce the law.

Adequate statutes exist; all that's necessary is for a state prosecutor's office to start enforcing them.

If state law says that certain municipal ordinances are void, then nobody who can't demonstrate why the state law isn't valid can have any valid reason for believing the municipal ordinances to be valid. Someone who detains another without reasonably believing he is authorized to do so is a robber or a kidnapper (depending upon the length and nature of the detention).

While I recognize that a prosecutor's office is subject to political pressures, is there any legal reason a state prosecutor couldn't invite persons who have been unlawfully detained by cops to file complaints with him. If Citizen Fred complains that Joe Cop detained him, and Joe Cop can't convince a jury that he had a legitimate reason for believing that Fred did something that was actually illegal, then Joe Cop is guilty of robbery or kidnapping (the particulars of the case would determine which).

What's important is to recognize that void statutes are illegitimate, and any attempted enforcement actions would be likewise illegitimate. Further, by definition, illegitimate actions form no part of any government agent's legitimate duties; while government agents carrying out their legitimate duties may legitimately have certain legal protections, such protections cannot be legitimately applied to government agents acting in ways they cannot reasonably believe to be legitimate.

27 posted on 09/03/2011 11:17:22 AM PDT by supercat (Barry Soetoro == Bravo Sierra)
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