I was recently having a discussion about voting against Rick Scott in the Republican primary in the contest to replace Bill Nelson. When I stated that I will never support that gun grabbing RINO, one of the commenters in the discussion remarked that I must support crazy people and 18 year olds having weapons.
First off, 18 year olds have rights as American citizens, just like the rest of us.
Second, I will tell you why I am against GVROs.
In 2014, a woman that I had dated filed for a Domestic Violence restraining order, claiming that I was stalking her. There was a hearing that was held without my knowledge or presence. I had not spoken with, nor had any contact with this woman for four months, yet she went to the courthouse and filed for an injunction. The first I knew of it was when a Deputy arrived at my house and served me with the order.
In it, she alleged that we lived together (we did not), and that I was stalking her (I was not), and that I showed up at her workplace and got her fired. There were no allegations that I committed any violent act, nor any claims that I threatened any violent acts. The basis of her claim was that I owned a lot of guns, and she was afraid that I might “snap” one day.
I was a prohibited person. I was not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition. My concealed weapons permit was revoked. It took three weeks, two hearings, half a dozen witnesses, an attorney, as well as dash cam footage and toll receipts, and over $2,000 in legal fees to show that I was nowhere near her on the days she claimed I was stalking her and clear my name.
To protect myself from any allegations of violating the restraining order, I left the country/state for two weeks. I went into exile. I traveled to Atlanta, then I went to St Martin, St Thomas, and to the Bahamas. I can prove that I was nowhere near her for those three weeks, because I had receipts from ICE showing I was not in the country.
I finally cleared my name, but it was an important lesson in the US court system.
All it takes is one pissed off ex-girlfriend making an allegation, and you are screwed. Is there any reason to believe that GVROs will be different?