Pro-gun sheriff refuses to meet with anti-gun group

Sarasota County Sheriff's letter to local Brady Bunch chapter is an instant classic.

Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman

I knew Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman was pro-gun — I’ve told you as much — but, damn!

Hoffman recently sent a letter to Sarasota’s Brady Bunch chapter refusing their request for a meeting — and then he told them why.

Enjoy!

Dear Mr. McLain and Ms. Rescigno,

Thank you for your recent request to meet. I am very familiar with the bradyunited.org 12- point platform and I have fundamental differences regarding nearly every objective of Brady.  I am a member of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, the 2nd Amendment Foundation, in addition to being a Life Member of the NRA.  I have been a law enforcement officer in this state for over 32 years, eight years of which were as an Assistant State Attorney, and I am satisfied that the laws on the books in Florida sufficiently protect this community from gun violence. 

In Sarasota County we have worked diligently over the past decade prosecuting part one crimes, including gun crimes.  We have reduced part 1 crimes by 52% since 2009.  This reduction represents the largest part 1 crime reduction in the state of Florida for law enforcement agencies serving populations of 100,000 or more.  

We made these strides without infringing on our citizen’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms, more succinctly stated, we went after criminals, not lawful gun owners.  “Gun safety” is often cloaked in language that essentially bans certain guns, ammunition or magazine capacities while criticizing award winning programs like Eddie Eagle.  Calling certain firearms “weapons of war” and “assault weapons” while limiting how many rounds a citizen can carry for self-protection or creating gun registries is a non-starter for me.  

I represent many citizens in this county who have businesses related to the firearms industry and who protect their family and property with firearms your organization seeks to ban. I cannot support that.

Thank you for reaching out but I will respectfully decline your offer.

Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman

Kurt A. Hoffman
Sheriff
FBI National Academy Graduate 2014
6010 Cattleridge Blvd. Sarasota, Florida 34232