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TALLAHASSEE – Florida, which already has the most concealed-weapon licenses in the nation, is now fast-tracking the process for active-duty military members and honorably discharged veterans.

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam announced Monday that active and retired service members will immediately begin to get top priority when applying for the licenses.

The expedited process is part of the state’s reaction to a shooting rampage in Tennessee in which four Marines and a sailor were killed on July 16.

“The men and women who serve and have served our country deserve all of the support we can provide,” Putnam said in a prepared statement.

The announcement expands upon an executive order issued July 18 by Gov. Rick Scott. The executive order included a requirement that preference be given to members of the Florida National Guard when applying for concealed-weapon licenses.

The order also directed Adjutant Gen. Michael Calhoun to temporarily move National Guard members from six “storefront” recruitment centers to armories and to work with local law-enforcement agencies to arrange regular security checks of armories.

Putnam expanded the license fast-tracking to include all military members.

Active members of the military are advised to include copies of their Common Access Cards or other forms of official military identification with their applications. Veterans have to file copies of their DD 214 long forms with their applications to get fast-tracked.

The state agency hasn’t estimated how many members of the military and veterans will take advantage of the expedited process, said Putnam spokeswoman Jennifer Meale.

Currently, there are more than 1.41 million concealed-weapon licenses issued in Florida, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which administers the program.

The state went over the 1 million mark in December 2012, becoming the first state in the nation to surpass that figure.

Pennsylvania, which does not post its concealed-weapon numbers, has reportedly joined Florida in surpassing the 1 million mark.

According to a 2014 study from the Pennsylvania-based Crime Prevention Research Center, Texas has issued the third most concealed-carry permits among the states.

There were 825,957 concealed-carry permits in Texas as of Dec. 31, 2014, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Meanwhile, Florida lawmakers in 2014 made it more convenient to apply for a concealed-carry licenses by allowing county tax collectors’ offices to accept applications.

So far, 13 offices — Brevard, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lee, Marion, Martin, Nassau, Okaloosa, Pasco, Pinellas, St. Johns and Walton — accept the applications.

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LOS ANGELES— Union officials for police at Los Angeles International Airport gave its support Friday for new legislation that would ban the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from allowing non-law enforcement personnel to wear metal badges.

The Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers’ Association (LAAPOA) issued the statement commending language in a Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill currently under consideration by lawmakers in

Washington, which includes an amendment that prohibits funding for TSA uniforms that include badges that resemble law enforcement badges.

While TSA screening agents are not sworn officers, the agency reclassified screeners as “transportation security officers” in 2005 in order to boost morale among its ranks. In 2008, the TSA did away with the embroidered logos and provided its screeners with metal badges.

But veteran law enforcement agents like Marshall McClain, President of the LAAPOA, say bestowing the title of “officer” to TSA screening agents and giving those screeners police-styled metal badges has granted agents the outward appearance of law enforcement authority – which they do not possess.

“The main mission of TSA agents is to screen passengers and baggage at the airport,” said McClain. “These screeners have not received law enforcement training and do not perform police functions at our airports so why would we ever allow them to wear police-like badges?”

The LAAPOA also supported a decision by TSA in Jan. 2014 not to arm its officers in the wake of the Nov. 1, 2013, shooting at LAX.

The Appropriations Committee bill will go to the full House floor for a vote in the coming weeks.

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It’s now legal for visitors to enter the Kansas Capitol carrying a concealed firearm without a permit.

Concealed carry became legal in the Capitol last year. A person could take a gun in if he or she presented a permit to the Kansas Highway Patrol officers who provide security at the entrance.

This year, the Legislature passed a bill lifting the requirement that a person get a permit to carry a concealed firearm.

That law, which went into effect July 1, means a person does not need to go through a background check or training in order to carry a concealed gun on the sidewalk or other public spaces, including the Capitol.

“We’re still screening everybody like we did when we were letting people with concealed carry licenses in,” said Officer Patrick Saleh with the Highway Patrol’s Capitol Police. “We still need to check bags and packages for explosives. The only thing that’s changed is we’re not asking them for their concealed carry ID card. But otherwise they’re still coming through the screening center and we’re letting them right in as though they had a permit for it.”

Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce, R-Hutchinson, one of the main proponents of the new law, said in an e-mail that the Capitol “should be treated just like any other public building in our state” and that “Kansans should be able to exercise their rights under the Second Amendment in this building.”

Gun control advocates say that allowing a person to carry a gun into the Capitol without any minimum requirements poses risks. The Capitol, which houses the Legislature and the governor’s office, is a popular destination for families and for school field trips.

“To allow people to carry loaded, hidden guns without first going through a background check or require any sort of training is a terrible and bad idea for public safety in Kansas,” said Brian Malte, senior national policy director with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Rep. Travis Couture-Lovelady, R-Palco, who carried the legislation on the House floor, said it would be hypocritical for lawmakers to prevent people from bringing guns into the Capitol, He noted that lawmakers are able enter the building without going through metal detectors or being searched by security.

“I hate the idea of us treating ourselves differently,” he said.

He acknowledged that the Capitol could be a target for a gunman, but said allowing people to carry guns for self defense made the building safer.

“There’s a lot of legislators that are carrying, I’m sure. And there’s a lot of lobbyists that carry every day … and a lot of them are pretty good dang shots, so I feel pretty good about that,” Couture-Lovelady said. “And as far as those that want to do harm to us in the Capitol, if they really want to cause problems, if they really want to have a mass shooting in the Capitol the little metal detectors aren’t going to stop them. All they have to do is get someone in the building and then go to a side door and let people in with the big guns. So I just think it’s another instance of a false sense of security.”

Not all lawmakers are supportive of allowing guns into the Capitol without restrictions.

Rep. Stephanie Clayton, R-Overland Park, said that she doesn’t fear for her own safety but she worries that this makes the building more dangerous for kids visiting.

“I do have concerns for children who are visiting on field trips. I feel like it’s a less safe for the public,” she said. “There’s a different view where as a lawmaker I accept that risk where as a member of the public, do they really need to accept that?”

Clayton said her chief concern was not that there would be an active shooter, but that allowing guns into the building without requiring training increases the risk of a gun going off by accident.

“That’s what’s going to hurt us, is a misfire through a lack of training,” she said.

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Three Chicago police officers filed a federal lawsuit against the department Thursday, challenging its new policy that requires uniformed officers to cover their tattoos.

The officers, all of whom served in the military and have tattoos on their arms, argue in the suit that the policy violates their First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and expression. The city of Chicago is named as the sole defendant.

According to the Police Department’s new policy, which went into effect June 12, tattoos and body brandings cannot be visible on officers “while on duty or representing the department, whether in uniform, conservative business attire, or casual dress.”

The hands, face, neck and other areas not covered by clothing must be covered with “matching skin tone adhesive bandage or tattoo cover-up tape,” according to the policy. Uniformed officers also are barred from wearing baseball caps, and knit caps in the winter, under the new policy.

One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Officer Daniel Medici, a nine-year veteran of the department, bears a tattoo that honors his service in the Marine Corps. An Iraq War veteran, he has a “wings and halos” tattoo in remembrance of his fallen comrades, according to the suit.

The two other plaintiffs, Officers John Kukielka and Dennis Leet, each have a religious tattoo of St. Michael, the patron and protector of police, mariners, paratroopers and sickness, the suit says. Medici also bears a religious tattoo. Leet and Kukielka both served in the Air Force and were hired by the Police Department in 1999 and 2009, respectively.

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The Department of Homeland Security plans to restructure its Office of the Chief Information Officer, including adding a new position to help the agency better procure technology.

DHS is creating a new deputy chief information officer position, DHS Chief Information Officer Luke McCormack wrote in a blog post. That person’s responsibility will be to oversee enterprise operations monitoring, service operations and service improvement, among other spheres.

McCormack wrote that DHS anticipates “increased competition, flexibility and reliability, decreased time-to-market and cost,” as well as stronger cybersecurity, in the procurement of IT services.

According to the blog post, the restructuring will allow the CIO shop to “transform into a more customer-focused and service-oriented organization.”

McCormack added: “We will take full advantage of emerging technologies from multiple sources, consolidate all service delivery functions, implement a newly revised governance framework and develop more strategic partnerships with our internal lines of business and industry.”

McCormack also announced Michael Hermus would join the department as DHS chief technology officer. Meanwhile, Margie Graves, currently DHS deputy CIO, will be promoted to “principal deputy CIO for strategy, governance and transformation.”

DHS officials were not available for comment as to how this position will differ from her current one.

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TUPELO – Tupelo Public School District security officers will carry pepper spray next year.

The district’s School Board voted on Tuesday to authorize the district’s 18 school security officers to carry the chemical agent while working. The officers are state-certified employees stationed at campuses throughout the district.

The idea is to give the officers another resource to use, particularly when there are large crowds at athletic events or if other major problems arise, said TPSD Executive Director of Operations Andy Cantrell.

“We are holding them accountable to maintain a safe and orderly environment, and we have to give them the resources to do that,” Cantrell said.

The district requested the Mississippi Department of Education’s Division of Safe and Orderly Schools to conduct a safety and facilities assessment in the spring in order to identify areas that could be improved. One recommendation was to allow the officers to use pepper spray, as needed.

“The safety of our students, faculty and staff is a top priority,” Cantrell said.

The officers will begin to carry the small canisters of pepper spray this fall. They all have attended a training that includes having them get sprayed by it. That allows them to fully understand the chemical’s effect so they will only use it when necessary, Cantrell said.

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The safety officers are different than the four school resource officers, who are provided by the Tupelo Police Department.

If you want a more open government, now is the time to put your ideas where your mouth is.

The White House seeks ideas and feedback from the public, federal officials and other open government advocates as it develops a third Open Government National Action Plan to be released later this year.

The announcement came in a White House blog post authored June 4 by Corinna Zarek, senior adviser for open government at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The government’s first and second iterations of open government NAPs were released in 2011 and 2013, and as Zarek notes, those initiatives will be fully implemented by the end of 2015.

Given the object is a more open government, the process by which the White House will ideate for the third NAP is transparent and open, yet perhaps even more so than prior efforts.

NAP suggestions can be emailed (opengov@ostp.gov) or tweeted to @OpenGov. Users can also log into the collaborative, publicly available Hackpad platform to share their thoughts and ideas. That online collaboration will be managed by social and digital government guru Justin Herman of the General Services Administration.

The blog post makes clear that new suggestions regarding old commitments are sought as much as ideas for new initiatives. The only stipulations are that ideas are ambitious, relevant, specific and measurable, according to Zarek.

“You may wish to suggest expanded commitments on topic areas from the first two plans such as public participation, open data, records management, natural resource revenue transparency, the Freedom of Information Act, open innovation, or open educational resources, among others,” Zarek wrote. “You may also wish to suggest entirely new initiatives — and we hope you do!”

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The Jonathan Law School Resource Officer was cited for his courageous actions during the stabbing death of Maren Sanchez at the school.