Open Carry Moving in Florida Senate

A bill to allow concealed carry permit holders to also carry openly is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Rules Committee on Friday. It’s important that all committee members hear once again that Floridians support the right to keep and bear arms.

‏Introduced by Sen. Greg Evers (R-2), SB 234 will allow concealed weapons/firearms license (CWFL) holders to carry a handgun openly, something that is permitted in a majority of states in the country but prohibited in Florida since 1987. ‏ ‏

As the Supreme Court reaffirmed last year in the McDonald case, the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. One of the primary goals of GOA at the state level is to restore the right to carry firearms away from one’s home or business. SB 234 is an important step in that direction.

‏This common sense legislation will also protect people who carry concealed from running afoul of the law inadvertently, or when simply removing a jacket. ‏ ‏

In addition, the bill allows for the purchase of long guns in non-contiguous states. Currently, Florida residents can only purchase and take possession of a rifle or shotgun from licensed gun dealers in Georgia and Alabama. SB 234 would allow for such purchases to be made in other states as well.

Also, you might recall that GOA reported in an earlier alert that attempts were made in committee to weaken Sen. Evers’ bill by requiring unnecessary and onerous restrictions on open carry—such as mandatory firearms retention training, the use of a special retention holster, and the display of the firearms license in proximity to the firearm being carried. Thankfully, these restrictions, which were clearly designed to derail the bill, were not added.


ACTION:The Rules Committee may vote on this legislation as early as tomorrow (Friday, April 15). Below is a list of members of the committee. Please contact these Senators. Feel free to cut and paste the pre-written letter provided. ‏

Members of the Committee on Rules:

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Pre-written Letter:

Dear Senator,

You will soon be called upon to vote on SB 234, a bill to allow concealed weapons/firearms license (CWFL) holders to carry openly as well as concealed.

‏I urge you to support the right to keep and bear arms and vote in FAVOR of this legislation. ‏ ‏

Gun control proponents, of course, oppose the modest step taken by SB 234 and they talk about the potential misuse of firearms that are carried openly. Many of the same arguments they use today, however, were used against concealed carry more than twenty years ago. Yet CWFL holders have proven, over the course of the ensuing decades, to be among the most law-abiding segment of society.

Please support the right to keep and bear arms and vote for SB 234.

Sincerely,