An Open Letter To Geneva County’s Sheriff

Your letter:

“Today we live in a troubling world. A world where the majority of our elected officials are too busy making decisions for us without asking us what we want. We have taken God out of our lives and are more worried about what is politically correct than what is morally right. We aren’t in Mayberry anymore. Andy Griffith’s time has passed; even though it would be great to have that time back. If we don’t pay attention to what is going on around us, get involved in our children’s lives, then we don’t have a chance.

Overall you have a very dedicated group of law enforcement officers in this county. We may not be perfect, but we do the best we can with what little we have. The court system is hindered by those who have decided we don’t need to send criminals to prison, and that we need to release the ones we have in there. They say we have to raise taxes to build more prisons; and no one wants to pay more taxes because we don’t trust what those politicians will do with those taxes. If you take into account all full time certified Law Enforcement officers; state, county and city in this county, it would equal to one officer for about 550 people. The officers are never all on duty at the same time so most of the time it is 1 per every 1000.

I tell you this so you will understand that as the Sheriff of Geneva County, I urge all Law Abiding citizens if you can LAWFULLY carry a weapon, do so. Do not allow you or someone you love to become a victim. I believe all good Law Abiding Citizens should have a firearm, ammunition and be proficient in its use.”

God Bless,

Tony Helms
Sheriff of Geneva County

The Second Amendment says:

… the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Therefore, everyone can lawfully carry a weapon.  I remind you, and all the other Sheriffs and LEOs in this country, that the hierarchy of laws runs from the Constitution on downward; no law may contradict the Constitution and one that attempts to do so is null and void.

Now I fully understand the reasonable expectation that those who are criminals would be constrained in the keeping and bearing of weapons; we constrain them by locking them up in jail or prison, for example, and then we further constrain them for some time afterward with probation or parole during which they must submit to various demands that are otherwise impermissible (e.g. warrantless searches of their home, vehicle or person, including in many cases the taking of blood or urine for drug testing, etc.)

We’ll leave aside convicted felons for the time being, since that’s a bridge too far for most people to get their head around, although you point out that the actual problem rests in releasing dangerous people while they are still dangerous; if we stopped doing that then the argument for constraining a former criminal’s ownership of weapons would disappear at the same time.

But here’s the problem with your exhorting citizens to “lawfully” carry: If we don’t trust the government with our tax dollars why would we trust that same government with a registration list when it comes to who is carrying and who is not?

This refusal to place trust in the government is, sadly, not hypothetical.  A Florida doctor was pulled over for allegedly speeding in Maryland and his vehicle stripped to the bare carpet by an officer looking for a gun that he didn’t have with him while his family and he were held in squad cars against their will.  The officer knew that individual had a CCW because it came up on his driver license as it always does, and these days police cars are increasingly armed with camera-based scanners that automatically run the plates of all vehicles they see.  This tool undoubtedly catches some car thieves but in this case it resulted in the outrageous harassment of a law-abiding citizen bordering on kidnapping — an act that the agencies involved continue to insist is not only legal but will continue to occur.

You may not be inclined to do such a thing but the remaining hundreds of thousands of law enforcement officers of various jurisdictions around the nation may not, and many do not, share your views.

Further, Florida (and Alabama) law makes it a crime for a person to decide to enter a bar (and a number of other places) with a firearm. The most-secure place for a firearm is on one’s person; yes, a person carrying can leave it in the car, but there it is exposed to a greatly-increased risk of theft (especially if a potential thief sees you stash it in the glove box!) and worse, if the terrorist shows up at that point in time your preparation and willingness to help is for naught.

Finally, as it stands right now inadvertent display of a concealed weapon (e.g. one that “prints”) is also a crime.  Brandishing is and should be a criminal act, but mere appearance should not be; open carry simply should not be illegal.  Yes, I know bills are pending in the Florida Legislature to address this, but as it stands today that is the law.

Sir, I am more than willing to be prepared at all times, not just in my home.  So are millions of other Floridians and Alabama residents.

We are all law-abiding citizens and, should Mr. Allah Akhbar decide that today he or she is going to shoot people, we’ll do what we can.

But many of us will not submit to what we believe are unconscionable and outrageous intrusions into our everyday lives nor expose ourselves to harassment or even criminal charge due to the state of the law here in Florida and elsewhere.

Many of us travel between states all the time, including into and through states that have no respect for the 2nd Amendment at all.  Florida’s “recognition” is, while better than many, worse than many as well.  A right does not require a license or permit; the very word “license” or “permit” is the antithesis of a right.

If you wish to call on Floridians (many of whom live right on your border) and Alabama residents to carry weapons, and I do applaud you for that stance, then respect the Second Amendment as written and at the same time pledge that in your county no person shall be arrested, charged, or jailed for simple possession of a firearm, concealed or not, and any agency or person that attempts to do so will have their agents arrested and charged with unlawful detainment.

Nobody disagrees with arresting those who misuse firearms; indeed, nearly all citizens want those who use guns to commit crimes to pay for those crimes in accordance with the law. I know that I certainly do, and I’m not alone.

But it is unreasonable to expect citizens to submit to registration and, if they ever travel to other states, to expose themselves and their families to harassment bordering on kidnapping so we can deter the one-in-a-million chance that a terrorist will attempt to visit mayhem upon us in our daily lives.

We will help you, Mr. Helms, but you must restore recognition of the rights delineated but not granted in the Constitution of the United States.

That, Sir, is not only your job, it is what the oath you took when you were sworn into office requires.

We, as Floridians right on the other side of your jurisdiction, are waiting for acts instead of rhetoric.