Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did not want guns at his Election Night party in Tampa—but he couldn’t have his constituents knowing that. According to a series of emails obtained by The Washington Post, DeSantis tried to convince the Tampa Convention Center to claim that it was their policy to prohibit firearms, despite the fact that Florida state law allows concealed carry inside public facilities unless a client specifically requests otherwise. “DeSantis/his campaign will not tell their attendees they are not permitted to carry because of the political optics,” Chase Finch, the convention center’s head of security, wrote in an email to other city officials conveying the governor’s request. DeSantis’ appeal was quickly denied, though he ended up having metal detectors at the event. Tim Marden, chairman of the Alachua County GOP, told the Washington Post that he skipped a fundraiser for Santos in October over the decision to have metal detectors. “It was a little hypocritical to have this measure in place for law-abiding citizens at a time when a lot of folks in the gun community will condemn a Democratic politician for having a security force,” he said.
