Florida may soon allow open carry of guns after court strikes down ban

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — A state appeals court on Wednesday threw out Florida’s nearly 40-year-old prohibition on openly carrying guns, contending that it is unconstitutional due to recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

The decision by the 1st District Court of Appeal comes amid Gov. Ron DeSantis’ clamoring for open carry despite wide resistance from local sheriffs, alongside fears it could damage the state’s extremely valuable tourism industry.

But the ruling may wind up standing. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who was appointed to the post earlier this year by DeSantis, said on his official X account that “our office fully supports the court’s decision.”

“This is a big win for the Second Amendment rights of Floridians,” Uthmeier wrote in the post.

Court records show former Attorney General Ashley Moody — who is now in the U.S. Senate — had defended the state’s open carry ban before the appeals court. The state Supreme Court previously upheld the law in a 2017 split decision.

DeSantis also quickly hailed the ruling as well, saying on his official X account that “this decision aligns state policy with my long-held position and with the vast majority of states throughout the union. Ultimately, the court correctly ruled that the text of the Second Amendment — ‘to keep and bear arms’ — says what it means and means what it says.”

The latest ruling stems from the 2002 arrest of Stan McDaniels, a candidate at the time for the Escambia County Commission. McDaniels, with a copy of the U.S. Constitution in his hand, was standing at a major intersection on July 4 in downtown Pensacola waving at people driving past. He had a loaded handgun tucked inside his pants with a holster that was clearly visible. McDaniels, who had a concealed weapons permit, told police he wanted his case to go to the Supreme Court.

McDaniels would be arrested several days later and was eventually convicted of violating Florida’s open carry ban. He was sentenced to probation and community service but his sentence was stayed while he appealed his case.

The three judges on the appeals court — two of whom were appointed by former Gov. Rick Scott and the other by former Gov. Charlie Crist — concluded that the law should be struck down due to rulings from the nation’s highest court that laid out a framework on how to evaluate gun restrictions.

Judge Stephanie Ray, the author of the decision, wrote that the judges “conclude that the state has failed to carry its burden to show that Florida’s open carry ban is consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

“History confirms that the right to bear arms in public necessarily includes the right to do so openly,” Ray wrote. “That is not to say that open carry is absolute or immune from reasonable regulation. But what the state may not do is extinguish the right altogether for ordinary, law-abiding, adult citizens.”

Since the 19th century, Florida has had a law in place banning the open carry of guns, but it was repealed in the 1980s by what officials called an “oversight” and a mistaken “loophole.” Legislators quickly reenacted the ban and it was signed back into law by then-GOP Gov. Bob Martinez in 1987.

DeSantis has for several years urged legislators to repeal the ban on open carry, but he has encountered resistance from Republican legislative leaders. State Senate President Ben Albritton cited law enforcement opposition as a reason he was not in favor of the change, but DeSantis this week once again called on legislators to act.

The governor contended that open carry is “not controversial” in the states that allow it and that “the sky has not fallen.”

Since assuming complete control of state government in the late ‘90s, Republicans have passed several gun rights measures including the state’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law. The one major departure came in 2018, when legislators passed a sweeping bill following the Parkland massacre in which 17 people were killed. That law put in place a “red flag” law that allows law enforcement to ask a judge to take away weapons from someone who is deemed a potential threat.

That measure also raised the age to buy a rifle in Florida from 18 to 21. This law has been upheld by federal courts so far, but it is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. In that case, Uthmeier is also refusing to defend state law and has urged the court to strike down the law.