# Florida and guns. They just don't get it... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 20, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371 "2015-08-20T19:08:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/21 "2015-08-22T11:32:39Z")
I’ve been to several shooting venues that served alcohol. As I recall, all of them had a system to ensure that drinkers were locked out of the range. One had a one-way gate from the range to the bar, and another used a wristband system. I’ve been a member of the same hunting club since I moved to Texas. We have lots of beer and lots of guns in the same place. We have no formal or structural limitation in place to separate alcohol and guns. We’ve had no problems for 25 years now, but we’re a civilized and proper bunch. Our members are capable of selecting a proper after-dinner weapon and would never be caught holstering nickel or stainless before Memorial day. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/22 "2015-08-22T12:03:39Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Wouldn’t it be shocking if the restaurant cum shooting range operated for the next 50 years with nary a single untoward incident? Why, it would be almost as if most gun-owners were responsible adults who had no need of Nanny tut-tutting over their shoulder, “You’ll have your eye out with that!” You’ll certainly have the last laugh when we all meet back here in 50 years. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/23 "2015-08-22T15:58:49Z")
The proposed restaurant is not that far from Sanford and land of George Zimmerman. I’m SO shocked. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/24 "2015-08-22T16:19:23Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > [Brompton cocktails](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brompton_cocktail) Why do the terminally ill get the best drinks? I’ll have my valet mix one up in…41 minutes. Heroin before noon is so tacky! ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/25 "2015-08-22T17:43:09Z")
Backyard shooting range with beer bbq a few trusted friends = ok. Shooting with strangers drinking alcohol in an indoor range = na’ ill pass. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/26 "2015-08-22T18:47:36Z")
Oh, quit pissing all over yourselves. It may have escaped my notice, but I do believe that the sun came up this morning, so I am going to assume for the time being (feel free to prove me wrong) that the world has not (yet) come to an end. > [@The Article Linked To In The Fucking OP!](#): > > **Perkinson and partner Edward Staudt said customers who order alcoholic drinks will have their driver’s license scanned by employees, and they would be blocked from shooting directly afterward.** > > Customers may bring their own guns or rent one, and they don’t have to order food or drinks to be allowed to shoot. > > But all customers will be required to sign an affidavit stating they are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol before they can fire their weapons at one of 12 gun lanes. > > The owners also promised they would keep a watch list of customers who cause trouble and call police when necessary. > > Perkinson said he would post signs warning that guns are not permitted in the dining area, although he and Staudt admitted they wouldn’t know if a person was legally carrying a concealed weapon without a metal detector. > > They offered to set up a metal detector if commissioners asked, but they did not. Just another circle jerk of RO. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/27 "2015-08-22T23:03:21Z")
But. But. But. Guns! ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/28 "2015-08-23T05:34:27Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > I know of an indoor race track that’s popular with bachelor parties. They serve alcohol in the same place where they allow you to get into a go cart and race around a track at high speeds. > > Obviously, these two things don’t mix. So they are careful about making sure people who get served immediately have their wristband removed making them no longer eligible to drive that day. > > I see no reason why a gun range that also serves alcohol couldn’t do a similar system. Sort of agree and see ExTank’s post. I’m wondering what the business model of the place is. Is it relaxing to see other people shoot guns? Or is the idea that they just happen to have 2 different businesses at the same location? I know that alcohol can make up a big chunk of the profits in many restaurants. I also wonder about the liability issues. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/29 "2015-08-23T05:45:03Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > Just another circle jerk of RO. Anything involving a police officer, a black person, and/or firearms is targeted for outrage. Context be damned. ---
**Author:** ![Alkash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Alkash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alkash)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/30 "2015-08-23T05:47:04Z")
Any word on when the restaurant will open? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/31 "2015-08-23T12:42:43Z")
> [@Bill Door](#): > > What, the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms isn’t a convenience store? Hey, nobody said anything about tobacco. That shit’s dangerous; get outta here. > [@The Article Linked To In The Fucking OP!](#): > > But all customers will be required to sign an affidavit stating they are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol before they can fire their weapons at one of 12 gun lanes. Kind of like how they sign a form saying they understand the rules about drunk driving before they can get a driver’s license? Brilliant! > [@TALTOITFOP](#): > > The owners also promised they would keep a watch list of customers who cause trouble and call police when necessary. As opposed to other gun ranges, where they don’t? I feel safer already. > [@TALTOITFOP](#): > > They offered to set up a metal detector if commissioners asked, but they did not. … so they’d know if people walking into a gun range had guns on them? Why don’t they just set it to go “beep” whenever anybody walks through the door? It’d be a lot cheaper, and provide the same information. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/32 "2015-08-23T17:10:53Z")
Shooting Ranges (both indoor and outdoor), coupled with restaurant/drinking establishments, aren’t exactly new news. In the Army, we called it the Rod & Gun Club. I’ve visited many private ranges (generally open to the public, but without the substantial discount card-carrying members receive) with similar setups; that is, a “clubhouse” with beer on tap or some such. It’s difficult to say given the information contained in the article, but given my past experiences with similar setups, the diners and bar patrons won’t be taking their leisure while watching people on the firing line bang away; most likely, they’ll be set up as two separate but joined facilities, under one roof. It was my take from the article that the prospective proprietors offered to secure the dining area/bar with metal detectors, to prevent armed patrons from coming in from the range with their firearms. Which, in all honesty, could be a bit of a pain in the ass from the perspective of range patrons who might then want to grab a bite to eat and a drink afterwards; it might necessitate a trip to the car to drop off the firearms and stuff before going back into the restaurant, which raises security issues for those patrons. Prospective thieves might look at those cars as a smorgasbord of firearms, ripe for the taking. Depending upon their target clientele, and again, this is just my take from the limited info contained in the article, the restaurant/bar will be a standalone business, open to and hopefully patronized by the general public; because, also IME, a “gun friendly only” crowd probably won’t be sufficient to sustain the restaurant/bar. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/33 "2015-08-23T18:41:54Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Let’s approve a shooting range with on-site alcohol sales, because nothing goes better with [del]beer[/del] vodka than a 9 mm. > > \*Owner Ron Perkinson told commissioners he plans to turn a vacant building near Interstate 95 into an upscale restaurant with an indoor shooting range, but he said alcohol sales were necessary to keep the eatery profitable, reported The Daytona Beach News-Journal. > > City commissioners expressed concern about allowing alcohol and guns on the same property, but in the end, only one commissioner voted against the proposal.\* > > [Story here](http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/florida-officials-ok-booze-serving-gun-range-because-they-think-it-will-be-safer-than-others/) > > _But all customers will be required to sign an affidavit stating they are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol before they can fire their weapons at one of 12 gun lanes._ > > Amazing what people think of. Asking people to determine of they are too drunk to shoot a gun, then sign a paper so stating. Sometimes I think one major operating principle in American innovation in many fields is the driving, nagging, persistent little voice in the back of y’alls minds going “But is this retarded \*enough \*?” [QUOTE=Czarcasm] Is that the ghost of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson I see, with a shit-eating grin on his face? [/QUOTE] Yup. Perhaps more saliently : a large, ragged hole in his head too. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/34 "2015-08-23T19:10:30Z")
It does provide an opportunity for the ultimate “hold my beer” story. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/35 "2015-08-24T19:25:50Z")
It would seend there will be endles opportunies for trick-shooting contests like shooting glasses or bottles out of diners’ hands. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/36 "2015-08-25T18:01:57Z")
Agree with many others, there is no problem here. I’m a member of a sportsmens’ club where one can shoot sporting clays (sort of like skeet shooting crossed with golf) or hunt pheasants out in the fields and, shockingly, they also serve alcohol at the clubhouse. They have a very sophisticated means of preventing people from drinking before shooting, there is a sign behind the bar that says “No drinking before shooting”. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/37 "2015-08-25T20:34:03Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > … > They have a very sophisticated means of preventing people from drinking before shooting, there is a sign behind the bar that says “No drinking before shooting”. You mean the sign with all the bullet holes in it? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/38 "2015-08-25T22:08:56Z")
Its Florida… whatcha gonna do? When my parents lived near West Palm, there was a range across the street but on the same block. I didn’t think much about it, but my brother and SIL decided to visit it when they were bored one day. They told me they rented and Uzi for an hour and went through 5-6 boxes of bullets. I admit I over reacted, by my HTG first response was, _“They Fucking Rent Uzis By The Hour Across The Street From My Elderly Parents!? WTF!?”_ Again, Its Florida… whatcha gonna do? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/39 "2015-08-25T22:29:28Z")
Linked article thing says: “But all customers will be required to sign an affidavit stating they are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol before they can fire their weapons at one of 12 gun lanes.” That is totally cool. Can I get a deal like that for my car? I promise I’m not drunk, give me my keys and get the fuck out of my way! Hooooo! ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371/40 "2015-08-26T13:14:21Z")
Meh. Shoot first, drink later; doesn’t seem like it would be all that hard to manage. Better have security guards keeping an eye on the parking lot if people have to lock their firearms in the boot before going back in to drink, however. Hey, maybe the restaurant could have a ‘shoot your dinner’ special: rabbit, squirrel, cow (for large dinner parties), wild boar, fish in a barrel… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-and-guns-they-just-dont-get-it/728371.md?page=3)