Review: Employees lax about Florida concealed weapon permits
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A 2012 internal investigation found that 48 Florida state employees made mistakes in issuing permits for concealed weapons, security guards and other similar licenses — in some cases not even looking at applications, according to records released this week to The Associated Press.
The laxity among Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services employees was addressed at the time, including with at least one firing and new “checks and balances,” officials said.
But the records add to revelations of lapses in concealed carry permitting in 2016-17 that have drawn criticism for department Commissioner Adam Putnam as he runs for governor in the wake of February’s Parkland school shooting, which brought gun safety to the forefront of the political agenda.
A campaign spokeswoman for Putnam, a Republican who strongly supports gun rights, said the problems uncovered in 2012 started under a previous administration.