Okay—what the hell is this? Even the most anti-gun writer out there at least has read the Second Amendment and knows the landmark cases surrounding gun ownership, but then goes off on some tangent about racism or how that’s not really how one of our most important civil rights is supposed to be exercised. It’s annoying, but what is coming out of NBC2 in Florida is just sad. In their bombshell report, they make it seem as if it’s illegal to own a firearm without a concealed carry permit. You can’t make this stuff up, folks:

The NBC2 Investigators have uncovered a flaw in Florida's gun checks system. 300,000 people legally bought guns in Florida in the last four months. Only 100,000 people got their licenses to carry in the same time frame. What does that mean for the other 200,000 people? Do they already have their licenses? Are they illegally carrying? The NBC2 Investigators found out no one knows for sure because two different state agencies handle Florida’s gun buying-and-carrying process. […] NBC2 Investigator Rachel Polansky went through the process herself and learned it’s lengthy and expensive. […] Polansky asked her firearms safety instructor, Jon Dezendorf, why it was easier for her to buy a gun than it was for her to get her permit to carry that gun. "A firearms purchase is a little bit easier as far as that’s concerned. Reason being, if you're going to go for your concealed weapons permit, that's more of a self-defense thing," said Jon Dezendorf, manager of Fowler Firearms. "It's mainly for the person who's into self-defense, wanting to protect themselves, and that's generally the reason why you want to get a permit." He says it’s also important to note, some gun owners don’t want permits to carry. "It could be a sporting firearm. It could be their hobby gun, or it could be a collection firearm," said Dezendorf. "Not everybody who buys a firearm is going to carry it for self-defense."

Again, what the hell is this crap? What her instructor said is not that controversial or shocking. You’re allowed to own firearms in your home. That’s a constitutionally protected right, reaffirmed through D.C. v. Heller in 2008 and Chicago v. McDonald in 2010. NBC2 seems to be implying that anyone who doesn’t have a carry permit is in violation of the law. That’s patently false. And yes, some gun owners don’t want permits to carry. Is that creepy? Is that illegal? No. I would suggest that if you do own firearms that a carry permit is an optimal choice, especially in self-defense situations, but you don’t need to obtain a permit to carry in order to buy a gun. Those are two separate animals. And yes, you go through a background check in each case, so what’s the problem here. There’s no flaw, just a terrible grasp of the gun laws here. I mean, this is just…I don’t know what to call this: brain dead. It should be deleted, retracted, or something because it’s a complete embarrassment. Dare I say, it’s fake news.