A.G. Gancarski
State Attorney Melissa Nelson is asking Jacksonville City Council Republicans to hold their fire regarding a probe into an “illegal gun registry” at City Hall and let the 4th Circuit’s lawyers do their jobs
Nelson sent a “formal request” to “delay or pause any attempt” of an internal City Council investigation. Jacksonville Republicans have had an itchy trigger finger to start firing away at Mayor Donna Deegan’s administration amid reports that people entering city buildings were required to give their information if they were lawfully carrying a firearm.
The City Council investigation was floated during Monday’s City Council Rules Committee meeting, in which members grilled General Counsel Michael Fackler about a list kept by private security for people entering City Hall and the Yates Building with guns.
Nelson’s Office already subpoenaed the Deegan administration for records. Rules Chair Nick Howland supports the external investigation.
“I commend the State Attorney for treating this potentially criminal matter with the seriousness it deserves and will do everything I can to ensure law enforcement has the space and support it needs to conduct a thorough investigation into the Deegan Administration’s firearm registry. Jacksonville deserves the truth,” he said Tuesday.
What is known: There has been a requirement since 2023 for people carrying guns into Jacksonville’s public buildings to put their names, addresses and identifying information on what critics are dubbing a gun registry.
What isn’t known fully: who was responsible for said registry, and why it went on so long.
Republican critics of the list documenting those carrying guns say it violates state law. The effort was supposedly overseen by a private security company contracted by the city after July 1, 2023. That was the date when Deegan took office.
Florida Statutes 790.335 bans registries, and contemplates criminal and civil penalties.
In Tuesday’s meeting, Fackler noted potential “serious consequences” for breach of the law, and said the Mayor’s Office was made aware of the issue on April 21 of this year.
A day later, subpoenas were served on the city’s outside counsel at the Bedell Firm that is working on behalf of defending the Mayor’s Office’s position.
Lawyer Eric Friday, the General Counsel of Florida Carry who is known for his staunch defense of the Second Amendment, was one of several citizens at Monday’s meeting who criticized the list of lawful gun owners exercising their permitless carry rights.
He urged a “full and complete” probe by the State Attorney, and wants the City Council to crack down on the “felonious conduct” that abridged citizens’ rights to attend public meetings and enter public buildings without putting their names on a list.
Attorney General James Uthmeier and former Mayor Lenny Curry have spoken out against the alleged list making.
Deegan’s Office has said the “policy in question was created and written before Mayor Deegan took office.”
Uthmeier’s Office has yet to respond to our questions Monday about whether his team would probe the issue independently, suggesting that for now it is the province of the 4th Circuit.
