Last week, Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeals ruled that statutes originating in the Florida Legislature take precedence over regulations passed by local governments or state agencies. This authority to preempt local ordinances prevents counties, cities, and townships from creating a patchwork quilt of regulations most citizens would find impossible to obey. What the decision means is that the 12 state universities in Florida cannot overrule a 2011 law in which the Florida Legislature “…pre-empted the regulation of guns by local governments and state agencies.”

The lawsuit–Florida Carry Inc. and Alexandria Lainez vs. the University of North Florida–was brought by Lainez because the university did not permit her to store a pistol in her car while attending classes on campus. A twenty four-year-old mother, Lainez has been a CC license holder for 3 years and is working to get students interested in gun training courses offered in the state.

Liberal Appeals Court Judge Philip Padovano dissented from the court majority, writing “this remarkable conclusion is not supported in the law, and with due respect for my colleagues, I believe that it defies common sense.”

It’s remarkable how many clearly stated constitutional rights “defy common sense” when the left happen to disagree with them.

Good for Alexandria Lainez, Florida Carry, Inc., and the majority members of the Court of Appeals.