Pennsylvania is linked to Florida through both the nature of its self-defense laws and the “reciprocity” agreements it holds with the Sunshine State.
Zimmerman’s use of a concealed carry permit after several violent incidents parallels the case of a Pennsylvania man charged with murder while legally using a concealed carry permit he obtained from Florida — after his Pa. permit was revoked.
Self-defense laws and reciprocity agreements
PA House Bill 40, signed into law June 2011, extended the “Castle Doctrine” of self-defense standards from within a person’s home or workplace to anywhere that a person has a legal right to be. Under the bill, while legally occupying a place, a person attacked with the threat of deadly force from a gun or other lethal weapon has the right to use deadly force without any duty to retreat.
Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law has many similarities to Pennsylvania’s current law. In Florida, a person is justified in using deadly force when they are attacked in any place they have a right to be. The attacked must also believe that he or she has to use deadly force to “prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony.”
Zimmerman has not been charged with a crime, because he told police he was defending himself against Martin.
Pennsylvania has also established 27 “reciprocity” agreements with other states, according to the Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association. Under these agreements, concealed carry permits could be issued in those states to Pennsylvanians — and could be used to carry a concealed weapon in Pennsylvania legally. Pa. permits are also recognized in reciprocity states as legal.
Florida is one of those reciprocity states.
According to CeaseFirePA, a gun violence prevention organization, more than 3,000 Florida permits have been issued to Pennsylvanians.
Representative Kerry Benninghoff, who supported HB 40, said the bill passed with broad bipartisan support. Benninghoff, R-Centre, also said the bill’s reciprocity agreements are meant to nationally protect Second Amendment rights.
According to a National Rifle Association release, the bill passed with a vote of 164-37. The National Rifle Association was a major backer of the bill, according to a press release from the day the bill was signed.
No NRA representatives were available for comment.
The original bill — vetoed in 2010 by then-Governor Ed Rendell — received strong criticism from the PA District Attorneys Association.
In a letter to House Representatives, the District Attorneys Association wrote “Law abiding citizens who protect themselves from criminals will not be the beneficiaries of this bill. Criminals will. This legislation is a ready-made defense for violent criminals — a defense which their attorneys will exploit in court.”
The District Attorneys Association did not list opposing the 2011 version of HB 40 on their “2011-2012 Legislative Priorities” release in March of 2011.
Although it passed with significant ease, some politicians, public officials and advocacy groups are challenging Pennsylvania’s bill, especially in the light of Martin’s death.
Max Nacheman, the executive director of CeaseFirePA, has expressed concern over both the bill’s “stand your ground” aspect and its reciprocity agreements. Nacheman called Pennsylvania’s laws “scarily similar” to Florida’s. Though he agrees with the Castle Doctrine — the right of a citizen to defend themselves with deadly force in their own home or workplace without a duty to attempt retreat — Nacheman said the current law goes too far.
“Zimmerman is claiming Trayvon had a gun,” he said. “If this happened in Pennsylvania with its new standard, would that apply? It’s a legal doctrine that creates a new gray area.”
The “Florida Loophole”
Nacheman voiced even more concern over Pennsylvania’s reciprocity agreements, saying that Florida does not have the same standards for concealed carry permits as the Keystone State.
Called the “Florida Loophole,” this reciprocity agreement allows individuals who have been denied a permit or have had their permit revoked in Pennsylvania to receive their permit from Florida; the permit can be applied for via mail, he said.
In September of 2010, Marqus Hill shot Irving Santana 13 times, killing him after Hill witnessed Santana attempting to break into his car, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Santana was not armed. Prior to the shooting, Hill’s Pennsylvania concealed carry permit had been revoked after he was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and related charges, according to the Inquirer. The charges were eventually dropped. He was later charged and found guilty of disorderly conduct.
Thereafter, Hill obtained a Florida concealed carry permit through Pennsylvania’s reciprocity agreement, according to the Inquirer. He received the permit despite his history of violence and the revocation of his Pennsylvania concealed carry permit. Hill’s Florida permit made his concealed carry of a weapon legal in Pennsylvania.
Zimmerman similarly had experienced several brushes with the law — including the assault of a police officer, according to MSNBC — and was also able to obtain a concealed carry permit in Florida.
Centre County Sheriff Denny Nau said that under Pennsylvania law, applicants for a concealed carry permit are given a Pennsylvania Instant Criminal check that looks at nationwide criminal and mental health records. Pennsylvania law also gives permit providers something that Florida law does not allow when considering licensing a carrier: discretion.
“Even if the PIC check comes back positive, we are not mandated to issue a permit,” Nau said.
This gives the Sheriff’s Department the ability to withhold a permit for reasons outside of criminal records, such as being reckless or drinking while carrying their gun, Nau said. Florida does not allow discretion in its permit process, according to a CeaseFirePA release.
Nau said he hasn’t seen any problems with a loophole and that otherwise, Florida has more strict rules for concealed carry applicants.
Applicants in Florida must be 21 years of age; meet citizenship and residency requirements; must provide a certificate of completion of a firearms training class; and must not have a “disqualifying criminal record,” according to the Florida concealed weapon application.
The National Rifle Association’s “Institute for Legislative Action” website notes that of the nearly 2 million carry permits issued in Florida — the most of any state — only 168 (.008 percent) have been revoked due to gun crimes by permit holders.
Although he hasn’t had any issues or seen any effects of the “Florida Loophole,” Nau said he would take action if he saw someone who had been denied a permit in Pennsylvania but still carried through another state’s permit.
“I would arrest them and let them take it to the court, because we’ve already denied them,” he said.
State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham is a member of the bipartisan group “Mayors Against Illegal Guns.” The group includes more than 625 mayors across the nation. Goreham said she “absolutely opposes” the Florida Loophole. She also said she was recently made aware of U.S. Senate legislation that would make right-to-carry reciprocity a nation-wide agreement.
The two proposed acts — “The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act” and “The Respecting States Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act” — are opposed by Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
“The loophole denies Pennsylvanians the right to regulate gun traffic and permits within Pennsylvania,” she said.
Goreham also said she generally opposes the greater prevalence of guns outside of the home.
“If you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail,” she said.