Sen. Greg Steube questioned why concealed carriers were barred from public buildings.

SARASOTA — Greg Steube is known throughout Florida for his pro-gun views.

The freshman state senator from Sarasota sponsored more than a dozen pro-gun bills just this session, including open carry, campus carry and several others that would eliminate "gun free zones."

As a state representative, he sponsored similar bills during previous sessions.

Steube, who's also an attorney, has been interviewed by national television networks, newspapers and other media about the gun bills that he has proposed.

Suffice it to say, even his detractors would likely admit he knows the law, especially when it involves firearms.

Last week, when the Sarasota Republican tried to enter the Sarasota County Clerk of Court's office, he was stopped cold by a private security guard and a Sarasota County Sheriff's deputy.

"I was denied entry due to the fact that I was in possession of a weapon," Steube wrote in an email to Sheriff Tom Knight, which he sent just an hour after the encounter.

"I informed the security guard that I had a concealed carry permit and was licensed to carry," Steube wrote. "The agent said that it was a government building and I was not permitted to carry weapons."

Citing Florida Statute 790.06, Steube explained to the guard, who was joined by Deputy Jovan Djokic, that "government buildings" are not considered "gun free zones" according to the law.

He asked Djokic to cite a rule, policy or statute that prohibited weapons in the Clerk of Court's Office.

"His rather rude response was if I had a problem with it, to take it up with the Sheriff. So here we are," Steube wrote in the email.

The legislator explained that the clerk's office is not a courthouse and thus "not an enumerated gun free zone under 790.06." "Therefore, please advise under what law your deputies denied my constitutional right to carry and my right to conceal under F.S. 790.06," he wrote.

Knight referred the email to Crystal Hansen, his assistant general counsel, who the next day met with the circuit's chief judge and the court administrator.

Eventually, the issue came to Chief Deputy Col. Kurt Hoffman, a former prosecutor and Knight's general counsel.

Three days later, Hoffman issued a legal opinion, which explained the department's "exposure to personal liability for restricting the suspicion-less free movement of people entering publicly accessible non-court Clerk of Court offices and restricting their firearm rights."

Not only did Hoffman recommend pulling deputies out of the Clerk of Courts Office at 2000 Main St., he recommended reevaluating the security at the R.L. Anderson Administrative Center, 4000 S. Tamiami Trail, and the Criminal Justice Center, 2071 Ringling Blvd.

In his brief, Hoffman acknowledged that the Clerk's Office was actually deeded as a "court facility," although it houses a historic courtroom that is seldom used. This distinction would become an issue with the clerk.

Removing the deputies, Hoffman noted, is the least restrictive way to comply with state statutes, to avoid the "potential liability associated with restricting access to non-court publicly accessible government locations for concealed-carry permit holders ..."

The statute creates personal liability — including fines and removal from office — for any public employee who restricts someone's firearms rights beyond what is codified in the law.

Hoffman also estimated that canceling the private security contract for just the guards at the Sheriff's Office would save taxpayers $70,000.

Knight concurred with Hoffman's findings, according to documents obtained by the Herald-Tribune.

The sheriff sent an email to Clerk of Court Karen Rushing, advising her that security would be removed from her office Feb. 21.

He sent another to Public Defender Larry Eger and State Attorney Ed Brodsky, whose offices are accessed through the Sheriff's Office at at 2071 Ringling, telling them security would be curtailed on Feb. 22.

Reaction

Rushing said that while the deputies have left her office, the private security guards remain.

Because of the historic courthouse, her office is a court facility, she said, so firearms are prohibited.

"As far as I'm concerned, we're operating under an administrative order that refers to the historic courthouse as a courthouse," she said Thursday. "We had discussions to address the concerns by the Sheriff and to see that if, by scheduling more court cases here, it would give relief to the Sheriff's concerns. We're still operating in terms of this being a historic courthouse, and we're doing court business, while the county is reviewing statutory requirements for security in this building."

In an interview Wednesday, Steube questioned how long the no-guns policy has been in place at the government buildings, and how many concealed-carriers had been turned away, but he praised Knight's response and that of the deputy who had turned him away.

"First, the deputy (Djokic) was only doing his job — doing what they'd told him to do," Steube said. "And the Sheriff's Office deserves credit. The issue was raised, and then they took corrective action."