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Florida stopped doing gun permit checks for more than a year

By iNFOTEL
June 08 2018 02:55 PM

CP447215827 — FILE - In this April 6, 2018, file photo, Adam Putnam, Republican gubernatorial candidate makes a campaign stop at Kimmins Contracting in Tampa, Fla. The state of Florida failed to conduct national background checks on tens of thousands of applications for concealed weapons permits for more than a year, according to an Office of Inspector General report released Friday, June 8. Putnam is the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services which is charged with conducting background checks on concealed weapons permit applications. (Monica Herndon /Tampa Bay Times via AP, File)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – For more than a year Florida failed to do national background checks on people applying for concealed weapons permits.

An inspector general’s report sent to Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam in 2017 highlighted the problem. It said an employee stopped doing the checks because she couldn’t log into the database.

Putnam is running for governor and has pushed to make it easier for people to get a concealed weapons permit.

Florida has more than 1.9 million people licensed to carry concealed weapons.

A Putnam spokesman said Friday that the employee responsible for the problem had been fired. Aaron Keller said every application that had been potentially impacted had been reviewed. Keller, however, did not say how many permits were revoked.

The Tampa Bay Times first reported on the inspector general’s report.

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