Appellate Practice Chair, Ed Guedes, argued in the First District Court of Appeal on behalf of dozens of city and county officials and their respective governments challenging a 2011 state law that threatens penalties on city and county officials who approve gun regulations in violation of the state preemption of the field.
Last year, a circuit court judge ruled that the Legislature has the authority to prevent local governments from passing firearm regulations, but elected officials cannot be punished merely for voting to enact local legislation. The State appealed the decision.
Local government officials argued the law had a “chilling effect” on their ability to be responsive to their constituents and enact ordinances aimed at reducing gun violence. During arguments, Ed said local governments are entitled to “absolute legislative immunity” when acting in their legislative capacity.
“This is an intrusion, a dramatic intrusion into fundamental core principles of local democracy,” he argued, emphasizing that the gun-related penalties are the only Florida law that mandates the punishment of local officials.
Read the SunSentinel article, here.
Read the Tampa Bay Times article, here.
Watch WCTV coverage of the argument, here.
