Q&A of the Day – Are Florida’s Sheriff’s Opposed to Open Carry?
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Today’s Entry: Word is that the NRA struck a deal to keep "open carry" out of the permitless carry bill which is opposite of what DeSantis said he wanted. Florida legislative leadership, Speaker Paul Renner, and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, attempted to explain on first day of session to the press during q&a why they are refusing to add open carry to the permitless carry bill despite Governor DeSantis calling for it.
(Notice that Passidomo blames the Sheriffs)
Bottom Line: With the state legislative session now in full swing, the full court push is on by many advocates of Constitutional Carry to revise the current bill, called Public Safety, which would allow for the permitless carrying of firearms in Florida, to include the open carrying of firearms. As suggested in today’s note, Governor DeSantis has recently suggested, in a private setting which was recorded, that he supports the open carrying of firearms. He also said in that recording that he didn’t think the state legislature would vote in favor of it. Ironically, while Florida has been the national leader in concealed carry permitted holders since 2008, Florida is actually one of the four most restrictive with regards to the visible carrying of firearms. The ability to visibly carry currently goes into four buckets based on specific state laws:
- States that don’t address it under law: 5
- Open carry with a permit: 10
- Open Carry without a permit: 31
- Not allowed: 4
The company Florida currently keeps on the issue of open carry is California, Illinois and New York. Deep blue states with the most restrictive gun laws in the country. Not exactly the company you’d expect Florida to keep on an issue like the 2nd Amendment. Florida had an open carry law in place until 1987. Janet Reno led an effort, in Florida’s then Democrat controlled government, to eliminate the state’s open carry provisions. This context is probably helpful for understanding why some are so specifically passionate about this issue across the state. So where is the legislature on this issue? The current version of the legislation under consideration, which has already cleared multiple House committees, reads like this:
- Authorizes person to carry concealed weapon or firearm if he or she is licensed to do so or meets specified requirements; requires person who is carrying concealed weapon or firearm without license to carry identification & display upon demand by law enforcement; prohibits person who is carrying concealed weapon or firearm without license from carrying such weapon or firearm in specified locations; authorizes nonresident to carry concealed weapon or firearm in this state if he or she meets same requirements as resident; requires Office of Safe Schools to develop behavioral threat management operational process; authorizes private school to request sheriff in county of private school establish guardian program.
If it passes as currently constructed Florida would join 25 other states which allow concealed carry without a license, however, we would still be keeping company with California, Illinois and New York on the issue of open carry. What we’ve seen play out so far this week with the start of the state session suggests what DeSantis said was right. There doesn’t appear to be the political will by leadership in either chamber to add open carry to the existing Constitutional Carry bill. Notably, while DeSantis referenced this in his state of the state address, he specifically advocated Constitutional Carry, without a specific mention of amending the state’s open carry law. As for the reason it doesn’t have traction in the state legislature?
As mentioned in today’s note, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo specifically suggested Florida’s Sheriffs are against it. So, is that true, and could the position of leaders in Florida law enforcement be a prevailing reason for not addressing it? The answer is that there’s not consensus. Some sheriffs, like Brevard’s Wayne Ivey have been publicly supportive of it. Others like Broward’s Gregory Tony have been publicly opposed to it. Most have not taken a public position on it. However, there was recently a private vote in which 47 of Florida’s 67 sheriffs are said to have opposed it. So yes, it’s true that the current prevailing opinion is opposition by the Florida Sheriffs Association. One may disagree with that position, however if the legislature is paying deference to their opinion, the currently crafted legislation appears to be consistent with it.
*Additional Note. After airing this story I received this note from Art Thomm the state director for the NRA:
To address the question - NO, the NRA did not “strike a deal” with the sheriffs in Florida in regards to constitutional carry in any way.
As I’ve stated in every committee meeting on the two bills moving, the NRA fully supports lawful open carry of firearms, and believe Florida should recognize that right in the state.
That said, we believe HB543/SB150 “constitutional carry”, or the permitless carrying of a concealed firearm is a MAJOR step forward for lawful gun owners in Florida and ask the legislature to please pass this legislation and Governor DeSantis to sign.