The National Rifle Association and it’s supporters are being accused of hypocrisy and intimidation after the pro-gun rights group encouraged its members to complain about campus police chiefs who attended a Florida committee meeting to speak out against allowing guns on campus.
A Florida NRA lobbyist reportedly emailed NRA members urging them to contact Florida Governor Rick Scott, Senate President Andy Gardiner and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli about campus police chiefs who attended a committee meeting to criticize Florida Senate Bill 176, which would allow people with concealed carry permits to bring guns onto college campuses, according to Jacksonville.com.
Crisafulli’s office soon received hundreds of emails with the subject line “STOP USE OF TAXES – STATE FUNDS – FOR LOBBYING.” The Florida State University police chiefs who attended the meetings also received public record requests from a citizen asking for documents to show whether they were on the clock during the meetings.
The NRA lobbyist responsible for emailing NRA members about the police chiefs said she had nothing to do with the public records requests and thinks carrying firearms on college campuses is a constitutional right.
President of GunFreeKids.org Andy Pelosi said the NRA’s tactics show hypocrisy because the group never complained when police chiefs testified in favor of gun-rights bills. FSU faculty union president Jennifer Proffitt said the records requests are an attempt to intimidate faculty who oppose allowing guns on campus.
Campus Safety Magazine had previously reported that nearly 75 percent of school protection personnel oppose students carrying guns on campus.
The bill’s identical twin, House Bill 4005, is actually closer to passage. That bill will go through one more committee before it is eligible for a floor vote, although it was approved by the Higher Education and Workforce Subcommittee on March 18.