Florida commissioner: No mores lapse in background checks
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida's agriculture commissioner promises his office will never again fail to do follow-up on certain national background checks that could disqualify people from gaining permits to carry concealed weapons.
Adam Putnam held a news conference on Saturday in Sun City Center, Florida, to defend himself against critics who say he should resign because of the lapse in checks. Putnam is a Republican candidate for governor.
The commissioner says "more seamless" communication between his agency and law enforcement, and "extra eyeballs," are in place to make sure the incident never happens again.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He says a department employee failed to make follow-up inquiries into 365 applicants who were flagged for noncriminal reasons during three background checks from February 2016 to March 2017.
The state revoked 291 permits and fired the employee.