Florida Alert! Lawsuit Filed Against Comm. Nikki Fried over Concealed Carry License Violations

[Charlie T Waite]

DATE:	May 9, 2020
TO:	USF & NRA Members and Friends
FROM:	Marion P. Hammer
	USF Executive Director
	NRA Past President

Gun group fires lawsuit at Nikki Fried over concealed permits

Agriculture Commissioner called Young Americans for Liberty ‘obscure right-wing fringe’ 

By Jacob Ogles

Florida Politics

May 8, 2020

 

The gun rights group Young Americans for Liberty sued Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried claiming she’s depriving Floridians’ rights. The suit aims to lift a suspension of online concealed weapons permit applications. 

“Nikki Fried thinks that your right to self-defense is negotiable. She’s wrong,” said Cliff Maloney, YAL President. “This is a blatant disregard for the rule of law, and I will not idly sit by while Nikki Fried uses this crisis to enact her gun-grabbing agenda. I encourage all Americans to join this fight for our rights. We either believe in liberty in times of crisis or we do not believe in liberty at all.” 

Fried has defended her move vigorously, repeatedly noting permits continue to be processed but the online mechanism cannot be used right now because of issues such as fingerprint collection during a pandemic. 

“Commissioner Fried has not restricted processing of concealed weapons license applications; on the contrary, our department has processed more than 54,000 concealed weapons license applications since March 1, with an average review time of just 1 to 2 days,” said Franco Ripple, Fried’s Communications Director... READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE:

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/331615-gun-group-fires-lawsuit-at-nikki-fried-over-concealed-permits 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Florida slapped with lawsuit over cancellation of online gun permit applications

By Ryan Lovelace

Washington Times

May 8, 2020

 

Young Americans for Liberty president Cliff Maloney has sued a Florida official for stymying his attempt to obtain a firearm amid social distancing restrictions in response to coronavirus. 

Mr. Maloney filed a lawsuit on Friday against Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services Commissioner Nikki Fried stemming from her decision to suspend online applications for concealed weapons licenses amid the coronavirus outbreak. Open carry of firearms in the Sunshine State is only permissible in specific instances, such as for hunting and target shooting. 

“Nikki Fried thinks that your right to self-defense is negotiable. She’s wrong,” said Mr. Maloney in a statement. “This is a blatant disregard for the rule of law, and I will not idly sit by while Nikki Fried uses this crisis to enact her gun-grabbing agenda. I encourage all Americans to join this fight for our rights. We either believe in liberty in times of crisis or we do not believe in liberty at all.” 

Ms. Fried did not respond to request for comment and her office was closed on Friday amid coronavirus restrictions on her workplace.

Florida Consumers First, a political committee registered in Florida, distributed an email in Ms. Fried’s name to supporters this week claiming gun rights supporters were coming after her. Ms. Fried appears to reference Mr. Maloney’s earlier threat of a lawsuit against her in the mailer, which Mr. Maloney included in his lawsuit... READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/may/8/florida-slapped-lawsuit-over-cancellation-online-g/

 

READ THE LAWSUIT COMPLAINT HERE:

https://yaliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Cliff-Maloney-vs.Nikki-Fried.pdf

[Doc McCoy, SASS #8381]

This is pretty confusing to me.  My FL non-resident permit expires today.  Last week I called FL Ag and talked with a very friendly fellow about submitting my renewal online.  He said it was fine to submit online.  But I would have to mail my fingerprint card because even though I could submit it online the electronic copy would not be accepted, it must be the original card.  I had already scanned the card and saw that the quality of the copy was not very good and I expect a transmitted image would be even less clear.  So I submitted my renewal, paid the fee and it was accepted.  My receipt clearly states that I must mail the original card before it can be processed.  But I have a receipt that I have submitted and paid prior to expiration (so no late fee) and it will be processed after the card arrives.  Simple enough.  

So, what's the lawsuit all about?  What did I miss?

[Charlie T Waite]

What I posted is all the info I have.

[Chert Rock Chuck]

No buzz about this here in Florida. 

But, it's never been possible to do the entire process online. 

Many county tax collector offices offer one stop processing of app, prints, photos and all.