Once again, Florida is out there leading the way and showing how it’s done. While other states coddle criminals and endanger their citizens, Florida remains an unapologetically Second Amendment state. Earlier this year, I reported on a Florida Sheriff that suggested residents shoot home intruders. Now, another Sheriff urges residents to shoot looters in the wake of Hurricane Ian.
Florida Sheriff Suggests That Residents Shoot the Looters
Fortunately for Floridians, not only is the state a Second Amendment state it is also a Castle Doctrine state. And it is a sentiment they are very serious about. It’s becoming commonplace for Florida Sheriffs to encourage citizens to take up arms in self-defense and defend their property. This includes the aftermath of Hurricane Ian recently hitting the state of Florida.
According to ThePoliceTribune, “Victims of Hurricane Ian in Florida have had to hire private security to help protect what is left of their homes from looters after the devastating storm last week and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said anyone caught looting by a homeowner should be shot.”
While on Fox News Friday, Sheriff Grady Judd told viewers that people have a right to be safe in their own homes. Likewise, they have a right for their property to be safe. However, looters are creatures of opportunity and see easy targets in the wake of tragedy. Often following disasters like this, police officers are spread thin, and property crimes rise.
For this reason, Sheriff Grady went on to suggest deadly force in the protection of homes and property:
“I would highly suggest that if a looter breaks into your home, comes into your home, while you’re there, to steal stuff, that you take your gun and you shoot him. You shoot him so that he looks like grated cheese.”
Judd goes on to make the case that this is a community service of sorts, “That’s one looter that won’t break into anyone else’s home.”
Governor Ron DeSantis Shares the Sentiment
Earlier last week, Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference in which he made Florida’s policies clear:
“They boarded up all the businesses, and there are people that wrote on their plywood, ‘you loot, we shoot,’” DeSantis said. “At the end of the day, we are not going to allow lawlessness to take advantage of this situation. We are a law-and-order state, and this is a law-and-order community, so do not think that you’re going to go take advantage of people who’ve suffered misfortune.”
He went on to remind everyone that Florida is a Second Amendment state and looters beware:
“I can tell you, in the state of Florida, you never know what may be lurking behind somebody’s home. I would not want to chance that if I were you, given that we’re a Second Amendment state.”
Of course, this didn’t go over too well with the left, specifically Joy Read, who took to social media to denounce the warning as racist:
So, to be clear, according to the left, only black people are criminals and looters. This seems to be indicative of the views of the Democrat party and the left as a whole.
Not Judd’s First Time Recommending Self-Defense
During the national riots “in memory of” George Floyd, Judd, along with other law enforcement entities, warned of arrests.
However, according to Fox13, Judd had a more dire warning to rioters and looters:
“I would tell them, if you value your life, they probably shouldn’t do that in Polk County. Because the people of Polk County like guns, they have guns, I encourage them to own guns, and they’re going to be in their homes tonight with their guns loaded, and if you try to break into their homes to steal, to set fires, I’m highly recommending they blow you back out of the house with their guns. So, leave the community alone,” Judd said.
While Democrats focus on gun control and soft-on-crime policies, Florida is reminding the world what America stands for. Which is most likely why Democrats hate DeSantis so much. They are losing peaceful, law-abiding citizens to Florida in droves.
Not to mention, Florida is showing the rest of the country that the Second Amendment works as intended. This is making it very hard for the gun control lobby to argue that it doesn’t.
Welcome to the gunshine state, you loot, they shoot.
