Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn today sent a letter to Florida Governor Rick Scott, respectfully requesting that the governor issue an executive order prohibiting guns in downtown Tampa during the four days of the Republican National Convention this August.
As has been widely reported, Florida law prohibits local governments from regulating guns — a law passed by the Legislature that provoked little controversy or dissent at the time, but clearly goes against the usual conservative doctrine that favors local control.
Tampa certainly seems to have a strong case here. In preparation for the thousands of protesters expected to descend on the city in late August, the Buckhorn administration has produced a series of rules for protesters in an area of downtown Tampa (and beyond) called the event zone. All types of devices are banned in the event zone, but not firearms, which the mayor has lambasted as "absurd."
This article appears in Apr 26 – May 2, 2012.