Marion P. Hammer

My View

Mayor Andrew Gillum’s attack on NRA is like stomping his feet for attention. He wants you to believe the NRA is bullying him. That makes big news, but Mayor Gillum is not being honest with you.

Mayor Gillum is not being sued by NRA. The city of Tallahassee is not being sued by NRA.

In a lawsuit filed almost three years ago, Mayor John Marks, Commissioners Nancy Miller, Andrew Gillum and Gil Ziffer are being sued by an organization called Florida Carry, Inc. and a group out of Bellevue, Washington, called the Second Amendment Foundation.

They are being sued because during a Feb. 26, 2014 commission meeting, all commissioners except Scott Maddox voted to willfully and knowingly violate state law. They did this after being publicly warned of the consequences of their actions and against the specific advice of the City Attorney Lewis Shelly, Police Chief Michael DeLeo and Commissioner Maddox.

Mayor Gillum knows the NRA is not suing him, but he also knows he wouldn’t get much attention by crying out that a small Florida group and another from Bellevue, Washington, have taken him to court.

Your tax dollars are being used to defend the city against a lawsuit that resulted from the actions of commissioners who violated state law for no other reason than they don’t like what the law requires. Imagine a private citizen telling a judge he broke the law because he didn’t like it or thought he should be able to make his own decisions about what laws to obey.

When public officials refuse to follow the law, they should be held accountable.

Getting media attention by trying to make voters think he is being sued and bullied by the NRA is an orchestrated falsehood and is shameful.

Even though NRA did not bring the lawsuit, NRA fully supports it. In fact, the NRA filed an amicus brief with the court because the NRA believes that all public officials should obey all laws like everybody else. Further, we believe that it is particularly egregious when an elected official willfully and knowingly violates the law against the advice of their legal counsel and their police chief.

In 2012, Palm Beach County sued the state, effectively claiming that penalizing public officials for knowingly violating the law was unconstitutional. They lost.

Despite all his complaining and attempts to make people think he is a victim, the fact remains that Mayor Gillum, with full knowledge and intent, broke the law. Holding him accountable for his actions is not bullying.

The video of the meeting with commissioners talking about why they were going to deliberately violate the law is on YouTube. The transcript of that meeting should be available from the City Attorney. Check it out.

In the meantime, I would caution Mayor Gillum that people will have a hard time voting for a man who has a hard time telling the truth.

Marion P. Hammer is past president of the National Rifle Association and executive director of Unified Sportsmen of Florida.