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Here is the Florida Senate's idea of progress: Instead of shaking down taxpayers to clean up lead pollution at gun ranges, charge those who get gun permits from the state. Admittedly, that comes closer to putting the burden on the responsible parties, but it still falls short of making the polluter pay. This gun license fee (call it what it is - a tax) is a desperate attempt to make a distasteful bill palatable. What it really does is prove that legislators will throw out every principle they supposedly believe in to satisfy a feared special interest, in this case the National Rifle Association.
The newest version of the bill (SB 1156) still grants gun range owners immunity from liability for the harm they do. In fact, the bill makes it a crime for a public employee to sue a gun range, even if it is a threat to public health. An earlier version had taxpayers picking up cleanup costs, but lawmakers recognized it might not look good back home. So a Senate committee changed that part of the bill, calling for a new fee (from $5 to $50) on Floridians who need licenses to work as security guards and firearms instructors or to carry concealed weapons. Those gun owners undoubtedly frequent gun ranges and maybe they should take some responsibility for the pollution left behind, but they have little to do with the real reason this bill is racing through the Legislature.
Of the more than 400 gun ranges in Florida, only one is fighting its cleanup responsibilities in court - the Skyway Trap and Skeet Club in Pinellas County. For years, Skyway has been sending lead shot into the wetlands that feed Sawgrass Lake Park, where children gather for nature classes. The lead has flowed into the lake and contaminated fish, creating a hazard that could cost $10-million or more to clean up.
How could anyone say that Skyway shouldn't be responsible for its own mess? It was easy for NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer. She is pushing the bill based on an absurd constitutional argument that lead pollution at gun ranges is protected as part of the right to bear arms. So according to Hammer, Skyway should be allowed to pump Sawgrass Lake full of lead and someone else (first taxpayers, now gun license holders) should be made to bail the club out.
In addition to the fairness question, there is an adequacy argument to be made against the Senate bill. It is unlikely that an extra license fee will collect enough money to protect the public from lead pollution at ranges.
The real spectacle, however, is how far the Legislature will bend to please the NRA. The House, which has vowed to shoot down any new tax initiative faster than a clay pigeon, has welcomed the Senate's proposal to add a fee to gun licenses. Apparently, when the NRA leans on you, a tax increase is a constitutional right.