© 2024 WLRN
MIAMI | SOUTH FLORIDA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Appeals Court: Union Leader Can Take Gun To Work

Fear and Loading/flickr

An appeals court says a South Florida union leader can have a gun at work, even without a concealed-weapons permit.

This case revolves around whether a union is considered a “place of business.”

State law allows people to have guns at work even if they don’t have a permit.

But Torrence Little was arrested anyway.

In June of 2011, someone reported a man with a gun in a union hall parking lot in Ft. Lauderdale.

Little had a gun in his waistband under his shirt. Police took him into custody on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon.

Little asked the court to dismiss the case.

He argued that as an elected officer of the union, he was responsible for providing security on the property. That included the parking lot, which was not open to the public.

A circuit judge in Broward County agreed and dismissed the case. But the state appealed, arguing that a labor union hall is not a “place of business.”

Now, the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach has also sided with Little.

The court found that he was doing required work at the union hall even if he wasn’t being paid.

More On This Topic