County Staff Could Bring Guns To Work If Manatee Leaders OK Policy

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — Commissioners are considering a policy that would allow Manatee County employees with concealed carry permits to bring a gun to work.

At their meeting Tuesday, they voted 6-1 to consider a policy proposed by Commissioner James Satcher after the board’s summer break.

“Gun-free zones should be called criminal empowerment zones,” he said, according to SNN News. “And basically, just let the bad guys know where to target.”

During the summer break, Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes and attorney Bill Clague will review Satcher’s proposal and draft a policy that commissioners can consider at a late-July meeting.

Commissioner Reggie Bellamy was the sole “no” vote against allowing staff to bring guns to the office, the Bradenton Herald reported.

Concerned about public safety and a scenario in which an employee might shoot a co-worker or visitor to county property, he suggested that the county review its security systems instead.