Eustis commissioner wants licensed public employees to be armed at work

EUSTIS, Fla. — A Eustis commissioner is continuing a push to allow city employees to carry weapons to work.

Commissioner Anthony Sabatini made the proposal at a meeting Thursday night and then took to social media to promote the idea.

“I’m ashamed that some officials have deprived public employees of their God-given right to self-defense,” Sabatini wrote in a Facebook post.

“If they have a concealed weapons permit, they ought to be able to use it in the workplace,” he said.

That would include everyone from firefighters to public works employees, who, Sabatini said, if armed, could step in to diffuse an emergency situation.

Sabatini also cites the recent mass shooting in Parkland as a motivator for change.

"You look at the gym coach, this hero that took bullets in order to save the lives of students.  Had he been armed, I think he would have been able to save even more lives,” said Sabatini.

But Sabatini’s proposal did not get much support from fellow commissioners at Thursday’s meeting.

Some residents also showed some concern for the proposal.

"I wouldn't want the water man carrying a weapon.  I wouldn't want the trash man carrying a weapon. Everyone doesn't need to have a weapon.  That's the problem.  We have too many weapons in the US,” said Willie Hawkins, who lives in Eustis.

Cox Media Group