On July 1, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ gun bill allowing people to carry concealed weapons without a permit went into effect. The Republican-controlled Florida state government called it a victory for Second Amendment lovers everywhere. At the same time, windows on the state Capitol grounds were being upgraded to the tune of $61.6 million. It turns out the reason the windows are so expensive is that they are not simply more energy efficient—they’re bulletproof.
On Monday, the Orlando Sentinel reported that many of the same Republicans who cheered the new permitless carry law put together a spending package in 2019 for the window upgrade. According to the Sentinel, the budget language only referred to the windows as “security improvements.”
“The windows are old and not ballistics rated or bulletproof,” said Laurel Wilson, marketing director for the Childers Construction Co., construction manager for the overall project. “The way things are going in the world, we saw an opportunity to harden the Capitol.”
Democratic lawmakers were surprised to learn the windows were being upgraded to a higher ballistics rating. Orlando Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani told the Sentinel, “That’s kind of intense. I just assumed it was a general renovation.” She added it felt like “real cognitive dissonance” for conservatives to continue to promote and pass laws that “don’t make us more safe” while putting bulletproof glass in the windows of their workplace. Both the Florida Department of Management Services and DeSantis’ office wouldn’t comment on the security measures.
It isn’t surprising that the same people who have allowed more guns into the state are also aware of how much less safe they are because of them. There’s enough data showing more guns means more gun violence. Whether it’s Florida or Anywhere Else, U.S.A., people who have gun permits with very little (or no) regulation of how and where they carry them have a tendency to be untrustworthy with those weapons.
What is still up for debate is whether it will remain legal for citizens with concealed carry permits to bring firearms into the Capitol building in Tallahassee. When DeSantis signed the permitless carry law, a provision in it prohibited Floridians from bringing guns into the Senate chamber—where a Republican majority passed the legislation. You’re also not allowed to bring guns into committee hearings, so there’s that!
To review: The political party that argues we all need guns for personal safety and in order to organize against a potential tyrannical government is also the political party clawing back civil rights while turning government buildings into fortresses.
Republished with permission from Daily Kos.
