Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday confirmed that the open carry of firearms is now “the law of the state,” following a ruling last week by the 1st District Court of Appeal that struck down the longstanding ban as unconstitutional.Uthmeier issued guidance to prosecutors and law enforcement, noting that some had already stopped enforcing the ban after the September 10 decision. In a post on X, he clarified that no other Florida appellate courts have reviewed the law since the US Supreme Court rulings in 2022 and 2024, making the 1st District’s decision binding on all Florida trial courts.
What is Florida’s open-carry law?
Florida first prohibited the open carry of firearms in 1987, making it a misdemeanor to visibly display guns in public. There were exceptions for activities like hunting and people could still carry guns in a concealed manner, as reported by CBS News. Uthmeier’s guidance instructs police and prosecutors not to arrest or prosecute “law-abiding citizens carrying a firearm in a manner that is visible to others.” He emphasized that gun owners must still use firearms safely and responsibly. “Nothing in the decision permits individuals to menace others with firearms in public, nor does it undermine the state’s authority to prohibit felons from possessing firearms,” the guidance said.
Court ruling and background
The decision came after a challenge by Stanley Victor McDaniels, who was convicted of openly carrying a firearm on July 4, 2022, in Pensacola. Citing recent US Supreme Court precedents, a three-judge panel concluded that Florida’s ban conflicted with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.“No historical tradition supports Florida’s open carry ban,” Judge Stephanie Ray wrote, noting that the right to bear arms publicly includes the right to do so openly. She clarified that open carry is not absolute and may be reasonably regulated, but the state cannot extinguish the right entirely for ordinary, law-abiding adults. The Florida Supreme Court had upheld the ban in 2015, but Ray’s opinion referenced the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association vs Bruen.
Reactions from officials
Uthmeier stressed that the ruling does not change restrictions on guns in sensitive areas such as schools, police stations, courthouses, polling places and government meetings.Democrats criticized the decision. State Senator Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, called it “tone deaf given the state of violence in this country.” “Florida’s current laws already robustly protect Second Amendment rights, even to the point of being a Stand Your Ground state. This ruling goes against the common-sense protections that keep our communities safe,” Jones said.
