LTC 314-2016 City of South Miami Resolution MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
No. 314-2016 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Members . the City C. mission
FROM Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: July 26, 2016
SUBJECT: CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI RE'OLUTION
Attached for your information is Resolution No. 133-16-14688, adopted by the Mayor and City
Commission of the City of South Miami on July 12, 2016.
A Resolution Of The City Of South Miami Calling For The Florida Legislature To
Limit The Number And Size Of Firearm Magazine Clips And To Ban Quick
Release Magazine Capabilities Of Weapons Sold And/Or Possessed By Members
Of The General Public.
The City of South Miami has requested that a copy of this resolution be provided to the Miami
Beach Mayor and Commissioners.
If you have any questions, please contact the Office of the City Clerk at 305.673.7411.
JLM/REG
Attachment
F:\CLER\$ALL\LILIA\LTC's-Transmittal's\Resolution 133-16-14688.docx
RESOLUTION NO. 133-16-14688
A Resolution of the City of South Miami calling for the Florida
Legislature to limit the number and size of firearm magazine clips and to
ban quick release magazine capabilities of weapons sold and/or
possessed by members of the general public.
WHEREAS, there have been recent mass shootings and the United States
Congress has chosen not to do anything; and
WHEREAS, the shooters have carried multiple high-capacity ammunition clips
with them; and
WHEREAS, one of the principal goals of the United States Constitution set forth
in the preamble to the Constitution, is "to insure domestic Tranquility;" and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has held that longstanding
prohibitions and restrictions on firearms possession are consistent with the Second
Amendment notwithstanding the fact that the Second Amendment protects an individual's
right to possess a firearm, unconnected to service in a militia; and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that the Second
Amendment does not grant to the citizens of the United States the right to bear all arms
and that the states are authorized to limit the type of arms that a citizen is allowed to own.
See District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 128 S. Ct. 2783, 171 L. Ed. 2d 637
(2008). In Heller, while striking down several statutes in the District of Columbia
prohibiting the possession of handguns and requiring lawfully-owned firearms to be kept
inoperable, the Supreme Court found that the Second Amendment only protects an
individual's right to possess firearms, at least for purposes of self-defense in the home. Id.
at 576, 636. The court made it clear that it was referring to those weapons "in common
use" and that the right did not extend to "those weapons not typically possessed by law-
abiding citizens for lawful purposes," [id. at 625, 627] and that "the right [is] not a right to
keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever
purpose"Id. at 626; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Constitution, Article 1, Section 8 (a) states: "The right of
the people to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves and of the lawful authority of
the state shall not be infringed, except that the manner of bearing arms may be
regulated by law" [emphasis added]; and
WHEREAS, a limit to the amount of ammunition carried by a law-abiding person
at any given time does not prevent the use of their weapon when needed in an emergency
situation; and
WHEREAS, legally acquired weapons with high-capacity ammunition clips were
used by American citizens to massacre innocent people in Columbine, Aurora, Newton,
San Bernadino, and now in Orlando; and
Res. No. 133-16-14688
WHEREAS, in the Columbine mass shooting, the attackers were armed with a
handgun, a shotgun, and other weapons but more to the analysis for the purposes of this
resolution is the fact that they had 16 magazines of ammunition for their handguns. It has
been reported that they had, for their handguns,thirteen (13) 10-round magazines, one 52-
round magazine, one 32-round magazine and one 28-round magazine; and
WHEREAS, in the Aurora mass shooting, the attacker was in possession of a rifle
with a 100 drum magazine, in addition to other weapons; and
WHEREAS, in the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Newtown,
the attacker was in possession of multiple 30-round capacity magazines for a rifle, in
addition to other weapons; and
WHEREAS, in the San Bemadino mass shooting, the attackers were armed with a
large AR-15, which typically has a 30-round magazine, in addition to other weapons; and
WHEREAS, in the Orlando mass shooting, the attacker was armed with a semi-
automatic rifle that typically has a 30-round capacity magazine and a semi-automatic
pistol that typically has a 17-round capacity magazine; and
WHEREAS, the legal possession of extra ammunition magazines is a proven
threat to law enforcement and to the safety and tranquility of Florida's population as a
whole; and
WHEREAS, the absence of a quick release mechanism could give someone time,
in the case of a mass shooting incident,to take down the shooter; and
WHEREAS, the sale or possession of any weapon with quick release magazines
or any tool that converts a gun to a quick release should be banned.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA,THAT:
Section 1. The City of South Miami, Florida, urges the Florida Legislature to:
limit the size of any ammunition clip possessed by members of the general public to ten
(10) rounds of ammunition; to limit the number of firearm magazine clips to one (1) per
firearm while being carried; to ban the sale or possession of any weapon for firearm with
detachable quick release magazines or any tool that converts a gun to allow a quick-
release; and to ban the sale of magazine clips sold separately, unless in exchange for a clip
previously sold with a weapon. The foregoing should not apply to state-certified law
enforcement officers, federally-certified law enforcement officers, and members of the
United States military who are on active duty. We further request that all other
municipalities and counties in Florida join us in letting the voices of sanity and reason be
heard and prevail in Tallahassee by limiting the type and number of ammunition clips that
can be sold or possessed, and ban the sale and possession of weapons with quick-release
mechanisms and the sale and possession of quick release attachments to weapons to the
general public.
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Res. No. 133-16-14688
Section 2. The City Clerk is hereby directed to send a copy of this resolution
to the municipalities in Miami-Dade County, members of the County Commission, the
Florida House, the Florida Senate, the Governor, the Miami-Dade Congressional
Delegation,the League of Cities and the League of Counties.
Section 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 12 th day of July , 2016.
øg-T: APPROVED L.,,. 4 Aeav_i4e LERK - MA
READ AN I .' ' •OVED AS 0 FORM, COMMISSION VOTE 5-0
L• I :GALI Y Mayor Stoddard: Yea
'AJJF,1A I ION T O . Vice Mayor Welsh: Yea
Commissioner Edmond: Yea
�j/� •/ Commissioner Harris: Yea
ATTORNT 7 .,174 Commissioner Liebman: Yea
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