Q&A of the Day – The Impact of Florida’s Permitless Carry Law on Crime
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
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Today’s Entry: Hi Brian, Love your show. I believe we are coming on a year since the Florida permitless carry law went into effect. I know last year you discussed the mostly positive effect permitless carry has had in the rest of the country. Do you have any update as to if it has had any impact on the violent crime rate in Florida?
Bottom Line: We are closing in on a year since Florida’s permitless carry law took effect (July 1st, 2023) and while full crime stats won’t be available until after the state’s year has concluded we do have enough data to talk about trends. But before diving into data perhaps the biggest impact of the law of all is what it hasn’t done. Turn Florida into a violent land of lawlessness as so many opponents to the new law had previously projected. In fact, the average Floridian almost certainly hasn’t noticed a difference at all. Here’s a quick refresh regarding what changed with Florida’s permitless carry law via the state’s summary analysis:
- The bill authorizes a person to carry a CWCF (concealed weapon or concealed firearm) if he or she has a valid CWL, or does not have a CWL, but otherwise satisfies the criteria for receiving and maintaining a CWL, except that such person is not required to demonstrate competency with a firearm or affirmatively state he or she desires a legal means to carry a CWCF for lawful self-defense. A person carrying a CWCF without a CWL must carry valid identification while in actual possession of a CWCF and display such identification upon demand by a law enforcement officer, and obey the prohibition against carrying a CWCF in certain locations.
- The bill requires a CWL holder, like a person authorized to carry a CWCF without a license under the bill, to carry only a valid identification while in actual possession of a CWCF. The bill leaves the remainder of the CWL licensing scheme in place to allow a person who chooses to obtain a CWL to continue to receive the benefits of licensure, such as the ability to carry a CWCF in another state through reciprocity agreements or to receive an exemption from the required three day waiting period between the purchase and delivery of a firearm.
Effectually the biggest change with the new law was for a person being able to participate in the concealed carrying of a firearm without having to obtain a Concealed Weapons License to do so. During the debate over the proposed policy in the spring of 2023 I brought this research into the conversation:
25 states allowed permitless carrying of firearms prior to Florida. When boiled down to measured results we’ve seen...
- 48% of the time there’s been a net reduction in crime with permitless carry laws
- 23% of the time there’s been a net increase in crime
- 29% of the time there’s been no measurable impact in crime
So, overall, permitless carry laws have resulted in a net decrease in crime and within the first year of the law having been in place in Florida it appears as though that’s what we’re seeing based on reporting from the state’s largest metros.
- Jacksonville has reported a 6% decrease in murders and homicides year-over-year
- Miami has reported a massive 37% decrease in murders and homicides year-over-year
- The state of Florida has experienced a 10% decrease in mass shootings year-over-year
To some, especially those fearful of firearms, this may seem odd. How could potentially more people carrying more guns lead to fewer shootings and homicides? The answer comes down to whether a criminal would be more or less likely to fire at someone who is more likely to be able to defend themselves. It’s the personal version of achieving, as Reagan put it, peace through strength. We don’t have nuclear weapons because we want to use them. We have them so that we can deter others from using them. The same principle generally applies to lawful gun ownership.
Again, it’s early and the data is far from complete, but the information we do have available to us points towards less violent crime occurring in Florida since the adoption of the permitless carry law.