Q&A of the Day – Will Open Carry Come to Florida?
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
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Today’s Entry: Finally! It’s about time DeSantis got onboard with open carry...but I’m skeptical about the legislature following through with it. I know you’ve had stats in the past talking about this. Can you pass them along again? We’re going to need all the ammo we can get to win on this issue.
Bottom Line: I see what you did there. Very clever. Florida has long been known as a friendly destination for gun owners with laws such as the state’s so-called “Stand Your Ground Law”, and most recently, 2023’s permitless carry law. However, many gun owners and related advocacy groups have expressed frustration at two other policies within the state. One that’s established law, 2018’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Safety Act, which raised the age to purchase a firearm to 21 for most Floridians and that implemented a “red flag”, or risk protection, policy, and one policy that hasn’t been enacted within our state – open carry.
As Florida has transitioned from a swing state to a red state the expectation by many 2nd Amendment advocates is that Florida’s related policies would follow suit. Let’s start with a look at where Florida ranks on policy and gun ownership. It’ll likely provide a few surprises. Where would you expect Florida to rank in firearm policy nationally? Where do you think Florida ranks in gun ownership? The survey says...
Florida’s gun ownership rate:
- 23rd with an estimated 24 guns per 1000 citizens (Wyoming has the highest gun ownership rate with New Jersey having the lowest)
Florida’s rank in firearm policy restrictiveness:
- 28th most restrictive policy (California has the most restrictive policy with Idaho having the least restrictive)
So basically, despite having held the moniker of being the “gunshine state” in certain circles, Florida is only slightly above average in firearm policy friendliness and ownership rates. Based on this information it’s easy to see why many 2nd Amendment advocates have been pushing for policies adopted by other states, a la, open carry. So about that...
Last Friday Governor DeSantis, in a post on X said in response to a post about a potential open carry bill: Would be great to see it hit my desk — Florida needs to join the overwhelming majority of states and protect this right… On back of the governor’s public support, organizations like Gun Owners of America have called on Floridians to contact Florida’s legislative leaders to bring an open carry bill to a vote in the state’s upcoming legislative session. Now, pertaining to what we know about states with open carry laws...
There are currently 31 states that allow open carry without a permit (some sources will suggest it’s 29 due to the level of restrictions)... so in other words most of the country already allows for it. The figure includes several traditional blue states like Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington. In this political context it’s perhaps that much more surprising Florida hasn’t already adopted a similar policy.
The stats you likely recall me having referenced previously would have been in regard to Florida’s passing of permitless carrying two years ago. It’s hard to make apples to apples comparisons with open carry states vs. non open states because there are many differences between open carry policies/eligibility restrictions within the states. What I can do is provide an update as to what’s happened with states that have loosened gun regulations within the previous few years, where at least permitless carrying of firearms is legal.
Sixteen states have loosened firearms restrictions within the past five years. Of them:
- Ten of the sixteen states saw a decline in violent crime, five were about flat, one (Alaska had a measurable increase)
- Homicide Rates in states offering at least at least permitless carrying of firearms are 7% lower than restrictive states
This proved true in Florida too during the first year of Florida’s permitless carry law as Florida experienced a 6.7% decrease in violent crime and an 18.5% decrease in property crime. As always there are two sides to stories and one side to facts, these are the facts as we’ll see whether open carry becomes a legislative priority in Florida’s legislative session once it gets underway in March.