Concealed weapon licensing error will wound Putnam | Guest column

To paraphrase an old bumper sticker, guns don’t kill political campaigns, candidates who misfire on gun issues shoot themselves in the foot.

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam undoubtedly regrets proclaiming himself a “proud NRA sellout” last year. But that was before the murders at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, back when outgunning potential Republican opponents in the race for governor mattered most.

Last month, news of Putnam getting some $670,000 in campaign money from Publix led to protestors staging a “die in” among the aisles of some grocery stores. Publix handled it well, but that’s not the kind of visuals any candidate wants.

And then last week, the Tampa Bay Times reported on an inspector general’s report of how a computer screw-up prevented the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services from completing background checks on concealed-weapon permit applicants for over a year.

MORE: Putnam's agency called for audit that found missing background checks

He said he fixed it as soon as he found out, but it was Putnam’s job to know about the situation and prevent it. We can surmise the commissioner was more interested in pushing out permits than screening applicants.

Just a day earlier, Putnam had announced his public-safety platform. A long lapse in background checks on people wanting concealed weapons permits is not exactly promising.

His opponent in the Republican primary, Congressman Ron DeSantis, probably won’t attack Putnam too hard on this. He touts himself as an unflinching enthusiast for the Second Amendment, with all that entails.

The Democrats running for governor were already on the far end of the political spectrum regarding guns. Making a virtue of necessity, some publicized their rejection of the National Rifle Association’s candidate questionnaire, promised a ban on assault weapons — even, in one case, a tax on ammunition.

Like dozens of other interest groups, the NRA polls candidates about how they feel on legislation and regulation. Failing to answer a question is taken as opposition to the NRA stated position.

“It wasn’t hard for me to decide what to do with the NRA questionnaire,” Gwen Graham said in a video posted on her campaign page. In large red letters, she wrote “No NRA Money” on the survey.

Not to doubt her sincerity, but Graham’s defiance wasn’t the hardest decision for any candidate to make. The NRA will contribute to her, and other Democrats running for governor, when the Southern Baptist Convention opens a chain of liquor stores.

Philip Levine drew up a checklist of the association’s positions on a dry-erase board and counted down his opposition point by point. “The NRA may not be happy with my answers, but the people of Florida certainly will be,” he said in his video response.

Chris King, who’d earlier proposed a bullet tax, said “this makes me sick to my stomach” and called for Putnam to resign because of the botched background checks. Graham and Mayor Andrew Gillum said he might want to drop out of the race for governor.

Gillum has joined students in demonstrating for gun control at the Capitol and bragged of beating the gun forces in court. He issued a statement saying, “Adam Putnam’s rhetoric on guns has been dangerous, but this is far worse.

“His department’s failure to conduct background checks is a dereliction of Putnam’s duties,” said Gillum, “and he should consider whether he is able to continue running for governor or serving as commissioner of agriculture.”

Jeff Greene, who just joined the Democratic race on June 1, said Putnam should quit both the Cabinet and the campaign.

“Adam Putnam isn’t just a self-proclaimed ‘proud NRA sellout,’ he’s a downright danger to Floridians,” said Greene. “At best, Putnam’s actions display gross negligence and incompetence: He is totally unfit for our state’s highest office.”

Putnam responded, somewhat belatedly, by saying the story was inaccurate and he blamed a “deceitful and negligent” former employee. Rather than some 100,000 applications improperly screened during more than a year, the commissioner said only 365 were at issue — and that all background checks were eventually completed, resulting in 291 permit revocations.

“We immediately launched an investigation and implemented safeguards to ensure this never happens again,” he said.

OK, no department head can know everything that happens in a large agency. But this wasn’t like running out of inspection forms at a roadside agriculture weight station. This was guns, and 291 out of 365 is a failure rate near 80 percent, so Putnam has provided the Democrats with hot ammunition on the biggest issue of this campaign.

Bill Cotterell is a retired Tallahassee Democrat reporter. He can be reached at bcotterell@tallahassee.com.