I am pleased to learn that celebrity Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd still opposes the so-called “open carry” of firearms. “Open carry” has the practical legal effect of preventing police from engaging any AR-15 mass shooter until after he shoots. It lets anybody bully and terrorize anybody else with their guns in any public space.

So opposition to “mass shooter carry,” as I call it, is a no-brainer for anyone who is not a psychopath. But when has that mattered to American public policy around guns?

Indeed, the sheriff has relentlessly aligned himself with the anti-civic, anti-reality, nihilistic political and social aggression that Gov. DeSantis practices and models. Sheriff Judd has repeatedly campaigned for DeSantis in uniform — while calling it official business.

Because of that, as noted in this article, I was skeptical that Sheriff Judd a) still opposes “open carry,” — which I call “mass shooter carry” and Ron DeSantis calls “constitutional carry” and b) would say so publicly.

So I was mildly surprised and pleased that the sheriff’s endlessly honorable and decent spokesman Scott Wilder answered me very quickly and clearly this morning when I asked if the sheriff still opposed open carry, as he had in the past. The answer was short and unequivocal:

Hey: Yes, the Sheriff opposes open carry.

Is the sheriff brave enough to fight DeSantis?

If Sheriff Judd chooses, that opposition puts him on a brutal public collision course with DeSantis. See article here.

Gov. Ron DeSantis reaffirmed his support for a change in state law that would allow residents to carry concealed guns without needing permits, and predicted the Florida Legislature "will get it done."
"I can’t tell you if it’s going to be next week, six months, but I can tell you before I am done as governor, we will have a signature on that bill,” said the Republican governor during a press conference in Friday in rural Levy County to talk about a separate issue— local infrastructure funding.

Opposition without confrontation — especially about civic matters of life and death and nihilism — is the worst form of cowardice. We’ll see how the sheriff’s opposition to open carry plays out — in public advocacy or timid silence. The sheriff’s celebrity would be incredibly powerful in explaining why only psychopaths benefit from or want open carry.

Pleased as I am with the sheriff’s answer today, no one should have to ask Grady Judd where he falls on this. He would best serve the public that employs him and pays him and is entertained by him if he explained publicly, relentlessly, why only psychopaths want “mass shooter carry” and love AR-15s more than their children.

Public Enemy Number 1

"America's sheriff" Grady Judd opposes open…