Florida AG says open carry is now state law

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier confirmed that citizens may legally carry registered firearms openly in the state after a Florida appeals court overturned a decades-long ban last week. No other appellate court has ruled on Florida’s open carry ban, meaning the new ruling is law, according to a guidance memo Uthmeier issued Monday.

What was the court’s decision? The state’s First District Court of Appeal ruled last Wednesday that a Florida law banning open carry violated the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in NYSRPA v. Bruen, which established that Second Amendment laws must be based on historic tradition. The Florida appeals court decided the ban was inconsistent with historic firearm tradition since open carry was the default mode of bearing arms during the United States’ Founding period. Despite declaring the open carry ban unconstitutional, the court noted its ruling did not mean open carry was immune from all regulation.

Why did Uthmeier need to issue a memo? The First District’s ruling technically only applies to the 32 counties under its jurisdiction. However, Uthmeier’s Monday memo clarified that the ruling applies to the entire state because no other precedent exists. The law will remain on the books until legislators formally strike it down, but police are unlikely to enforce the ban given Uthmeier’s guidance.

Uthmeier noted that police will still enforce ordinances against public firearm displays considered careless, rude, or threatening. The appellate ruling doesn’t override state laws against felons possessing firearms, and firearm bans may still be enacted on private property, he added. State and federal laws banning firearms from sensitive locations like schools, government buildings, and bars will also remain in place. 

Dig deeper: Read my report earlier this year about a fatal shooting on Florida State University’s campus.