Court Opinion

ID: 7720309
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-07-30 19:27:12.895734+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:27:11.048546
License: Public Domain

WELLS, J.,
dissenting.
I join in the thorough and well-reasoned dissent of Justice Overton.
I write separately only to point out, contrary to the assertion of the concurring opinion, that my decision is not based upon a confusion between the right to bear arms and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Rather, I conclude that to guard the constitutionally protected right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, this Court is not required to ignore the reality of what is happening daily in our country, our state, and in every local community of Florida.
*216The protection under scrutiny is against what is unreasonable. What is unreasonable has to be measured against what are the contemporary facts of life. I fault the majority because, in my judgment, it chooses to eliminate the word “unreasonable” from the Fourth Amendment. The majority’s decision unnecessarily exposes many innocent residents of this state to severe harm from the violence of guns and without justification hinders law enforcement officers in their work to protect innocent residents. This simply does not have to be done to guard the Fourth Amendment.