Weather: Patchy fog in the morning. Sunny. Highs in the upper 80s. North winds around 5 mph, becoming east in the afternoon. Thursday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 70s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph, becoming south after midnight.
Today at the Editor’s Glance:
In Court: No Drug Court today. Circuit Judge Terence Perkins hears pleas and imposes sentences through the day.
The Palm Coast Democratic Club meets at 6:30 p.m. at the African American Cultural Society, 4422 North U.S. Highway 1, Palm Coast (just north of Whiteview Parkway). The League of Women Voters is taking on Florida State Dictator Ron DeSantis on gerrymandering and voter suppression. “Come and hear what their plan of action is and how you can help,” organizers say.
Notably: Johnny Weissmuller, otherwise known as Tarzan, was born on this day in 1904. Queen Elizabeth II of Britain marks the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne, with a platinum jubilee from June 2 through June 5, even though the actual accession took place on Feb. 6, 1952, and even though the monarchy should have been abolished a few Elizabeths ago: for all the pageantry and excessive glitter, it remains an anachronism that expands the boundaries of the absurd in tandem with the expanding universe. All attention will nevertheless be on London. Why not on Bhutan, which celebrates Coronation Day today? Or on special readings from the Marquis de Sade’s books? It’s his birthday (1740).
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Flagler County Commission Workshop
River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) Meeting
Separation Chat: Open Discussion
The Circle of Light A Course in Miracles Study Group
Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 9-18, at the Flagler County Public Library
Flagler Woman’s Club Forum for Flagler Beach City Commission Candidates
Flagler County Drug Court Convenes
Model Yacht Club Races at the Pond in Palm Coast’s Town Center
Palm Coast Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee
Flagler Beach City Commission Meeting
‘One Slight Hitch,’ at Daytona Playhouse
‘The Drowsy Chaperone,’ at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theatre
For the full calendar, go here.
This is a story about a loophole. As you probably know, the Brady handgun law, which became effective back in February of 1994, requires licensed gun dealers to perform a presale background check. Federal law also makes it illegal for a dealer to sell a handgun to a juvenile or a fugitive from justice or anyone who’s been indicted or convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison. The law is also designed to keep illegal aliens or anyone convicted of domestic violence or someone who’s been formerly judged to be mentally defective from buying a handgun. The Department of Justice estimates that last year there were 2.6 million applications for handgun purchases and that about 69,000 of those sales were blocked because the would be buyer was in one of the above categories. It’s a big number, but more than 97 percent of those applying to buy a handgun last year were legally free to do so. What about the other 69,000 would be buyers? Technically there is nothing to keep any one of those people from buying the gun of their choice without any paperwork or background check. Every year in this country there are at least a couple of thousand gun shows. That’s the loophole I was referring to. Nightline wanted to see how easily firearms could be purchased at gun shows, so a week and a half ago we sent a camera crew with a hidden camera to film one. It was a modest show, organized by a local gun club in Kentucky. Our crew had no problems buying firearms with no questions asked. It was all perfectly legal.
–Ted Koppel, From “Guns for Sale,” Nightline, on ABC, July 8, 1998. Nothing has changed since.
