James Uthmeier explores civil action against Jacksonville for ‘firearm logbook’

Attorney General James Uthmeier is taking issue with State Attorney Melissa Nelson, a fellow Republican, for deciding not to prosecute the city of Jacksonville for maintaining a list of gun owners entering city buildings.

Uthmeier concedes his Office lacks jurisdiction to prosecute the case of the “firearm logbook.” But he says his Office, led by deputy AG Jason Hilborn, will retrieve all evidence in the case, which involves lists kept at City Hall and the Yates Building between July 2023 and Spring 2025, for potential civil action under Section 790.335(4)(c).

That statute could permit a $5 million fine against the city for maintaining a list of gun owners or guns that went against the state’s ban on such lists.

The 4th Circuit State Attorney’s Office said that while Jacksonville officials were guilty of “poor communication” regarding a registry of people carrying guns, there is no ground for criminal charges related to the practice.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and others have pilloried the gun registry as a violation of constitutional rights by the Donna Deegan administration. The “Check Points and Perimeter Security” memo from Facility Manager Mike Soto was drafted June 30, 2023, during the transition between the outgoing Lenny Curry administration and Deegan’s incoming group. It was revised in July after Deegan was sworn in.

State Attorney Nelson’s Office notes that the city “stopped the practice immediately once it was discovered,” but not before “more than 140 entries recording the names, birthdates, ID numbers, and firearm types of over 100 individuals” were memorialized.

The SAO concluded that “sanctions only apply when a registry is created ‘knowingly and willfully.’” The Public Works manager who created the registry did so because “he wanted data about how many people carried firearms into City buildings — believing it would improve preparedness in case of an emergency, not realizing it created a legal problem.”

Uthmeier’s memo takes issue with this read, and says the SAO’s work does not “withstand scrutiny.”

He said the logbooks do constitute a record of gun owners, thus violating the law. He also argued that the keepers of the list, including the public works manager blamed for its existence, did some knowingly and willfully.

“Ignorance of the law is no excuse,” he wrote.

“City leadership,” he added, either was “fully aware” and “did nothing,” or “failed to adequately train and supervise” staff.

The scrutiny from Tallahassee opens up a new chapter on a book the Mayor’s Office thought was closed.

“The City of Jacksonville fully cooperated with State Attorney Nelson and her office from start to finish, and we thank them for conducting a careful and thorough review,” read a statement from a Deegan administration spokesperson.

“They confirmed that the policy in question was implemented by an individual employee concerned with building security unbeknownst to Mayor Deegan or her leadership team. This practice immediately ended when it was brought to the administration’s attention. Jacksonville will always follow the law and support constitutionally protected rights.”