“We have a right to carry,” Eric Friday, general counsel for Florida Carry, said. “We have a right to bear arms in the state and in this country.”
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida law enforcement agencies will cease arresting or charging individuals for openly carrying firearms in most public areas, following a state appeals court ruling that invalidated the state’s long-standing open carry ban as unconstitutional.
Attorney General James Uthmeier instructed officers statewide on Monday to halt enforcement of the open carry restriction after the First District Court of Appeal determined it was in conflict with the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
“This decision restores a right we lost in Florida nearly 40 years ago,” stated Eric Friday, general counsel for Florida Carry, who played a pivotal role in challenging the law. “We have the right to carry and to bear arms in this state and country.”
Local agencies, such as the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and sheriff’s offices in Clay, Baker, St. Johns, and Nassau counties, along with the Jacksonville Beach Police, declared that they will no longer detain or arrest law-abiding citizens merely for open carry.
“Law enforcement’s on notice today,” Friday said. “Don’t harass gun owners. If you don’t have a reason to stop them, leave them alone.”
The ruling encompasses all types of firearms, including handguns, rifles, and shotguns. Previously, according to Friday, individuals engaged in activities like hunting or fishing risked arrest if their firearms were in plain sight.
“Even someone who was hunting was technically breaking the law and could face arrest, requiring them to prove in court that they were indeed hunting,” Friday explained.
Law enforcement officials and state law make clear that some restrictions remain. Firearms are still prohibited in certain locations, such as schools, courthouses and specific government buildings, as defined in Florida Statute 790.06.
“There’s a statute 790.06, subsection 12A, it lists where guns are prohibited,” Friday added. “Anywhere else, people are welcome to carry in the state of Florida after this ruling.”
Private property owners and businesses still have the authority to bar firearms on their premises. However, Friday emphasized that merely posting a sign is not enough, property owners must ask individuals to leave if they are carrying firearms, or else trespass laws may apply.
“If they want to ask a person with an openly carried or concealed carry firearm to leave, the person should do so,” Friday said. “Failure to do so is armed trespass. It is a felony.”
State officials and gun rights advocates are urging gun owners to act responsibly as the new legal landscape takes effect.
“I would ask all gun owners to remember to behave respectfully, responsibly, and just know that we’re ambassadors for the community and it’s important that we act as such,” Friday said.
