ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Mayor Rick Kriseman is joining ten other Florida cities in a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Rick Scott.
The lawsuit is seeking the power to regulate firearms at the local level. Under current Florida law, local cities and counties cannot pass firearm regulations as they are preempted by state gun laws.
Penalties include up to a $5,000 fine and removal from office.
READ HERE: Florida law doesn't allow local gun laws
In a news release, Mayor Kriseman said, "I served in the Florida House of Representatives when Governor Scott and legislative leaders decided to overstep their authority and use fear and intimidation as a tactic to preserve the NRA’s agenda.
"I am proud to join this suit and look forward to the end of state interference in local government.”
He also said: "It puts us individually at risk from our careers and financially at risk and that just isn't right."
Other cities in the suit include Miami Beach, Coral Gables, and Pompano Beach. While Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn has not joined the lawsuit, he did say he supports it.
His spokesperson, Ashley Bauman, sent us this statement:
"Mayor Buckhorn is interested in the details of their lawsuit and we’re currently running this by our attorneys, he’s also interested in different avenues for local government to enact their own common sense gun violence prevention. The Mayor has a long history of involvement on this issue," she said.
"In 1998, he helped lead the effort to pass the constitutional amendment to allow counties to require background checks and waiting period for weapons purchased at gun shows. It was passed in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties."
Power or politics?
Mayor Kriseman's announcement comes just two days after Rick Scott announced his run for Senate.
Kriseman has been open about his opposition of Scott and his support of Democrat Bill Nelson for Senate. 10News asked the mayor point blank if this was about politics.
"The only politics of it, that this policy is bad politics, it's a bad policy and it just so happened that this governor signed it into law," said Kriseman.
A mayor is a non-partisan position, but it just so happens that ten of the eleven mayors on this suit are Democrats, the other is unaffiliated.
Today, one of the city attorneys with St. Pete admitted that the lawsuit will likely move slow. But, Kriseman believes it does stand a good chance.
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