Here's what local law enforcement agencies think about 'open carry'
MIAMI -- Debate at the state capitol continues on the proposed 'Constitutional Carry' legislation.
The Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board did not weigh in on how it feels about the proposed legislation. Instead, at the meeting, we learned how law enforcement looks at the 'Permitless Carry' bill currently making its way through the legislature in Tallahassee.
It's something CBS News Miami has been unable to do locally, with multiple agencies declining our requests for comment on the pending bill.
The director of the CRB, Shirley Plantin, provided perspective to the group from an impromptu meeting she attended a few weeks ago with community members and law enforcement.
She told the board with around five different law enforcement agencies present and shared what she heard from those agencies.
"Puts us in a position of assuming that everyone's carrying," said Plantin of what officers shared at the meeting. "What we're often hearing in the community is a lot of misinformation. Anybody can carry a gun. It's free for all. If the police have a gun, they have a gun too. Setting up for really bad things to happen."
The board focuses on education and engagement between the community and law enforcement. Board member Eddy Gervais also serves as a Miami law enforcement agency chaplain. He says officers tell him they're worried about the potential for innocent lives lost.
"Do they have any background check," shared Gervais, of questions officers he spoke with, were asking. "What's their background? Have they been trained on how to use a gun? In the era of mass shootings, come to the scene. Everyone wants to play hero. How will the officer know who is the subject?"
The bill, as it stands, allows for concealed weapons carrying without a license or training. And lawmakers in Tallahassee shared with CBS News Miami the bill does not remove the current requirement for background checks from licensed dealers to buy a gun.
Current law does not mandate a background check if you purchase a firearm through a private sale.
Lawmakers expect the 'Constitutional Carry' bill to be debated on the Florida House and Senate floors next week.
