For nearly two years, a policy enacted at City Hall in Jacksonville, Florida recorded the names and other information of gun owners who visited while lawfully carrying, including the make and model of their firearm. The use of the list was only curtailed after a city council member brought it to the attention of the local State Attorney, who’s now deep into an investigation into who, exactly, was responsible for creating the list and who allowed it to be used in violation of Florida law.

At least nine officials have been subpoenaed as part of the investigation, and though the scandal hasn’t received a lot of coverage outside of 2A circles and Jacksonville media, a member of Congress who’s hoping to become the state’s next governor is now talking about the illegal registry and what should happen to those who put it in place. 

On Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called for anyone responsible for the creation of the city’s gun-owner logs to be held responsible.

“Doing these secret gun registries is completely unacceptable,” DeSantis said.

Based on records obtained through the Florida court system, Action News Jax has discovered this appears to be the first case of its kind. 

In our review of the 42 cases dating back to 2004 that cited the section containing the prohibition on gun registries, none of those cases involved local governments or government officials.

Now, Jacksonville’s apparently unprecedented case is also becoming an issue in the upcoming gubernatorial race. 

“Nothing just happens because some low-level staffer did it. So that’s why I feel this need to be looked into,” Trump-backed Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL 19th District) said.

Congressman Donalds spoke explosively with Action News Jax on Monday.

He argued that this issue needs to be front and center for the legislature, Governor, and Attorney General. 

“Whoever is responsible for this, in my view, needs to be removed from office because that’s a violation of the 2nd Amendment. You’re not allowed to do that,” Donalds said.

While Donalds says that whoever is responsible for the illegal gun registry should be removed from office, Florida law actually allows for criminal prosecution of those who knowingly and willfully created and maintained the list. In fact, it’s a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. 

Now, Donalds can (and I would argue, should) amend his statement to demand prosecution and prison time for those responsible for the backdoor gun registry, but his original statement gives his potential opponents in the Republican primary an opportunity to adopt a tougher stance. 

At the moment, Donalds’ only declared opponent for the Republican nomination is Charles Burkett, the mayor of the small town of Surfside, Florida. There are a number of other potential candidates, however, including Casey DeSantis and Matt Gaetz.

Burkett’s isn’t nearly as familiar a face with Florida voters as Donalds, but his position as the mayor of Surfside does give him a unique perch to comment on and critique what’s taking place in Jacksonville and to take a tougher stance than what Donalds has said to date. 

Gaetz was an ardent supporter of the Second Amendment while in Congress, but Casey DeSantis hasn’t said much at all about the importance of the right to keep and bear arms, even as her husband has championed permitless carry, open carry, and the repeal of the post-Parkland gun control laws like the state’s ban on gun sales to adults younger than 21. 

Calling for prosecution and prison time for those responsible for the illegal gun registry seems like a no-brainer to me, but we’ll see if she (or any other candidate) rises to the occasion and demands real accountability and stiff consequences for violating Florida’s law and creating a list of gun owners who dared exercise their Second Amendment rights at City Hall. Firing those responsible is a good start, but unless its coupled with prosecution it amounts to a slap on the wrist.