Ban Limiting Gun Records Upsetting Some; in July, Law Enforcement Agencies Must Get Rid of Some Electronic Weapons Lists

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Byline: J. TAYLOR RUSHING, Capital Bureau Chief

TALLAHASSEE -- Nearly a quarter of a million electronic records deep inside the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office are about to become a casualty of a new state law, and Sheriff John Rutherford is none too happy about it.

A bill passed by legislators in April and signed by Gov. Jeb Bush in May bars law enforcement agencies from compiling or keeping electronic records of guns or their owners, although paper records are still allowed. In Jacksonville, that means 248,817 records compiled since 1987 are three weeks away from a state destruction deadline.

Rutherford said it is hard not to see the new law as an impediment to his …