Manatee commissioners approve policy allowing county employees to carry guns at work

BRADENTON, Fla. - County employees in Manatee County will soon be able to be armed at work. The Manatee County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the policy Tuesday morning. 

"If someone means to do harm, they’re not following our rules and so, what we have to do is think about the good guys out there, and there’s a lot of them," Manatee Commissioner James Satcher said. "We have to think about the good guys and give them a fighting chance. We’re not asking or telling anyone what to do, but we’re at least giving them that option that if they feel comfortable and capable to conceal carry, that we’re not going to be the ones that stand in their way of doing that."

Satcher proposed the policy about a year ago.

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"I think we live in a world where if you tune in to the news, you see a lot going on and there are threats out there, and me as a commissioner, one of my roles is to watch over the people that are willing to come to work for us," he said. "I don’t want to be in a position ever where I'm the one that made some silly rule that made them where they weren't able to protect themselves from some criminal."

He said the policy gives the county’s more than 2,000 employees the opportunity to protect themselves if the worst case scenario happens. 

The policy does exclude long guns and rifles. Employees have to be over 21 years old and can’t have a disqualifying felony, or anything that would prohibit them from carrying a concealed weapon.

"Our employees may very well be able to answer with force if you try to harm them. We want them to get home to their families. We want everyone to get home to their families at the end of the day, and it's only right that we respect the law of the land, the Second Amendment," Satcher said. "Manatee County is not a soft target."

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Critics, though, see danger in the new policy, and worry it could risk public safety and open the county up to possibly liability issues.

"I heard the news this morning, and I've rushed out here … that you all were going to vote on adopting that policy," Manatee County resident Jeanette Eubanks Kelly said during the public comment period. "I just have a few things to say. Unbelievable. What happened to our metal detectors. When is this madness going to stop."

"How are we to know that these people, those that have those concealed weapons, are mentally capable of making just decisions on whether or not to use it or not," she said.

Ginger McCallum, a volunteer with Moms Demand Action, a group that has protested the policy for the past year, said the policy concerns her as well.

"We don't feel that guns belong in any workplace, really, or any other public establishment, but it's quite simply adding guns to a situation … more guns equals more possibility for gun violence," McCallum said.

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"Anybody can have a bad day, and if you've got a weapon in your possession, it just makes it all the more possible that you use that. If you're carrying a weapon, you've got to be ready to use it. You're carrying it for a reason. So, whether it's a county employee having a bad day and they're faced with a, you know, a crabby county citizen who has a question or who won’t let something go or vice versa, it just creates the possibility for more bloodshed," McCallum said.

"I just think for employees who don't carry guns, it creates a hostile environment," she added.

Satcher said he’s confident the commission made the right decision.

"If we end up having to litigate a situation where someone was exercising lawfully their Second Amendment rights, there's nothing else I would rather go to court over," Satcher said.

Other commissioners agreed that the benefits outweigh the risks.

"I would much rather have our staff be able to defend themselves if something should happen than be sitting ducks," Manatee Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said. "I could not forgive myself for that if that happened," she said.

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Firearms must be secured in a locked drawer or secure purse or briefcase that’s in their control at all times. Concealed firearms are also still off limits at the courthouse, polling places, schools and other locations based on Florida law.

The policy goes into effect July first to coincide with the state’s permitless concealed carry going into effect. Manatee joins more than a dozen other counties in the state, including Hernando County, allow their employees with concealed weapons permit to carry at work.