UPDATE: Florida attorney general declares open carry the “law of the state.”
Open carry is now the law in Florida, according to state Attorney General James Uthmeier, following a Sept. 10 appeals court decision.
“I’m issuing guidance to Florida’s prosecutors and law enforcement in light of the 1st DCA’s decision in McDaniels v. State,” Uthemier posted on X on Sept. 15. “Because no other appellate court has considered the constitutionality of Florida’s open carry ban since the SCOTUS decision in Bruen, the 1st DCA’s decision is binding on all Florida’s trial courts.
“Meaning that as of last week, open carry is the law of the state,” he said. While the law remains on the books absent legislative action, it’s been rendered moot without enforcement.
A three-judge panel in the 1st District Court of Appeal declared that Florida’s law blocking open carry was unconstitutional and a violation of the Second Amendment. Sheriffs in several counties across Florida including Escambia, Santa Rosa, Volusia, Flagler, Polk and more, and a few police departments, quickly announced they would not enforce the ban.
Technically, the 1st District Court of Appeal’s decision only applied to the 32 north Florida counties of the 1st District and does not go into effect until Sept. 25, but the Florida Sheriffs Association advised all 67 county sheriffs not to arrest anyone for openly carrying a firearm.
The decision came 10 years after the Florida Supreme Court upheld the ban. Some members of the FSA have supported open carry in the past and some have not, but the FSA as a whole had not previously taken a position. In 2023, Florida passed a law allowing concealed carry without a permit.
So what does this mean for gun owners?
Can gun owners openly carry in Florida?
Open carry cannot be prohibited in any place where government property is open to the public and unrestricted, Evans said.
Where is open carry in Florida still illegal?
In the 20-page decision declaring the open carry ban to be unconstitional, Judge Stephanie Ray said, “That is not to say that open carry is absolute or immune from reasonable regulation.”
Several sheriffs went on social media to explain the change and remind residents that private property owners still may ban firearms on their property.
“That could include businesses like grocery stores and other private establishments,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a Sept. 11 Facebook post.
“If you stay there, then you’re committing armed trespass, which is a felony. So please, we love our Second Amendment, but it does come with some restrictions of when and where and how,” Polk County Grady Judd said in a message on YouTube.
“Just know that it’s a new day in Florida,” U.S. Rep Jimmy Patronis told Floridians in an appearance on NewsRadio 1620. “And you might see somebody carrying a gun and you don’t need to be startled. But if you’re going to be carrying a gun, please just understand what the limits of the law are. And if somebody asks you to leave their store, that’s their right too,”
State and federal restrictions on carrying firearms in specific locations would still apply. Those include:
Florida ‘red flag’ laws, other gun laws still apply
The change in open carry only applies to people legally allowed to possess a firearm. It does not affect other restrictions in Florida’s gun laws such as restrictions for people under the age of 21, convicted felons, “violent career criminals,” or people who have restraiing orders from committing acts of domestic violence.
Brandishing a firearm in a “rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner, not in necessary self-defense” would still be a first-degree misdemeanor.
Florida’s red flag laws for risk protection orders also still apply. Under those laws, firearms may be taken from individuals who:
Florida law also has strict conditions regarding how long a person can be kept from possessing firearms in those instances and when they must be returned.
What is ‘open carry?’
“Open carry” means you can publicly carry a legally owned firearm that is kept in plain sight or partially concealed, usually holstered.
According to Florida law, openly carrying a firearm is a second-degree misdemeanor with a $500 fine or a maximum of 60 days in jail.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida AG declares open carry ‘law of the state’ following court decision. What’s legal now?
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
