Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Legal & Legislation

Florida Alert! League of Women Voters: Florida's New Gun Ban Organization

Friday, February 3, 2017

DATE: February 3, 2017
TO: USF & NRA Member and Friends
FROM: Marion P. Hammer
  USF Executive Director
  NRA Past President

The League of Women Voters is not who you think they are. The Florida League of Women Voters is Florida's newest gun ban organization.

A lobbyist representing the League of Women Voters -- Patti Brigham -- isn't registered as a lobbyist with the state, but she shows up in committee to support gun control and oppose Second Amendment rights over and over again.

The League has been working with anti-gun Democrat legislators to write and file gun ban legislation. They work in secret to deny constitutional rights while pretending to be strong constitutionalists in order to solicit memberships and donations from people who have no idea what the League is really doing.

But Patti Brigham isn't just a gun control lobbyist for the League, she is the League's first vice president. Brigham is working with Kristen Rand, the Legislative Director of the Violence Policy Center, (a Washington, D.C. based gun control organization) to ban the gun rights of Florida's law-abiding gun owners.

In fact, we recently received credible information that the bill recently filed to ban so-called "assault weapons" and "high capacity magazines" was initiated by the League of Women Voters and their 1st VP, Patti Brigham.

Emails from a public records request were shared with us.  They unearthed a series of emails between the two organizations and a legislator that paint a very disturbing picture of their partnership to undermine the firearms freedom of all Floridians. Those emails strings between Patti Brigham, Kristen Rand, and Rep. Carlos Smith (D) have every appearance of being authentic.   Since Rep. Smith has filed the assault weapons ban bill (HB-167) discussed and planned in these emails, there is no reason to believe otherwise.

In an email, the League's 1st VP Patti Brigham told Kristen Rand,

"Our coalition has found sponsors to carry an assault weapons/large capacity magazine ban in FL. We are wondering if you/or an attorney with the VPC [Violence Policy Center] could take a look. We are concerned that we may have left off some weapons from the bill, which we modeled on the CT legislation. We are hoping to file the bill in early January." 

Yes, you read that right. Connecticut-style gun control in Florida. And the sponsors the League of Women Voters found to file the gun ban bills are Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Winter Park) who filed  and Sen. Linda Stewart (D-Orlando) who filed  SB-254.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRENDING NOW
ATF Proposes Helpful Reforms for Travel with NFA Items

News  

Monday, December 8, 2025

ATF Proposes Helpful Reforms for Travel with NFA Items

Until the National Firearms Act is a relic of the past, every little bit that makes it easier to navigate can surely help. In recent weeks, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) ...

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Monday, November 17, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Last week the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Case of Virginia CCW Holder Arrested While Traveling Through Maryland

Thursday, December 11, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Case of Virginia CCW Holder Arrested While Traveling Through Maryland

The National Rifle Association joined the Second Amendment Foundation, California Rifle & Pistol Association, Second Amendment Law Center, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in filing ...

Latest Anti-Gun Task Force Report Delivers Next Wish List for Michigan Prohibitionists

News  

Monday, December 8, 2025

Latest Anti-Gun Task Force Report Delivers Next Wish List for Michigan Prohibitionists

Joe Biden has been out of office for over 300 days now, but his anti-gun legacy lingers, including in the form of a playbook left behind for anti-liberty governors (hello, Governor Gretchen Whitmer!) to consult. NRA-ILA ...

UK Continues Perilous Slide into 1984 Territory

News  

Monday, December 8, 2025

UK Continues Perilous Slide into 1984 Territory

By now, many of you have probably heard about the British subject (we are not really sure they should be called citizens anymore) who, after visiting the United States and enjoying the firearm freedoms many ...

Third Circuit Grants Rehearing En Banc in NRA-Supported Challenge to New Jersey’s Carry Restrictions

Thursday, December 11, 2025

Third Circuit Grants Rehearing En Banc in NRA-Supported Challenge to New Jersey’s Carry Restrictions

Today, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals granted rehearing en banc in Siegel v. Platkin, an NRA-supported challenge to New Jersey’s carry restrictions.

The Kids are Alright: Distrust of Mainstream Media Peaks with Gen Z, Alpha

News  

Monday, December 8, 2025

The Kids are Alright: Distrust of Mainstream Media Peaks with Gen Z, Alpha

A few weeks ago, an alert discussed the Gallup organization’s polling that tracks historic changes in the public’s perception of mass media (newspapers, TV, and radio). Since 1972, Gallup has been asking Americans about their “trust and ...

New Jersey: Senate Committee Passes Attack on Garden State Shooting Ranges

Thursday, December 4, 2025

New Jersey: Senate Committee Passes Attack on Garden State Shooting Ranges

On Thursday, December 4, the Senate Law & Public Safety Committee advanced legislation that could potentially weaponize local zoning laws against outdoor shooting ranges. According to the bill statement, “This bill requires a municipality in which ...

New Jersey: Assembly Committee Schedules Gun Control Next Week

Friday, December 12, 2025

New Jersey: Assembly Committee Schedules Gun Control Next Week

On Monday, December 15, the Assembly Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on a couple of gun control bills, promising to gift more coal to Garden State gun owners during the lame duck session. Please contact ...

Ninth Circuit Grants Rehearing En Banc in NRA-Supported Challenge to California’s Ammunition Background Check Requirement

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Ninth Circuit Grants Rehearing En Banc in NRA-Supported Challenge to California’s Ammunition Background Check Requirement

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted rehearing en banc in Rhode v. Bonta—a case backed by the National Rifle Association and California Rifle and Pistol Association.

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.