TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) — Starting Sept. 25, Floridians will begin living under one of the most sweeping changes to state gun laws in decades: the ability to openly carry a firearm in public.
For some, it’s a victory for gun rights. For others, it’s a source of fear and uncertainty. And for the people tasked with enforcing and interpreting the law, it’s a new chapter they're ready to embark on.
Watch full report from Jada Williams
Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez has already prepped the cases with an open carry charge within the county.
“So far this year, we've had about 43,000 cases referred to this office for prosecution, everything from driving with your license suspended to murder and everything in between,” Lopez said. “Of that 43,000 only 14 actually carried this charge. And so because open carry is now the law of the state of Florida, we did not have a good faith basis to pursue those charges. And so as we sit here now, those charges have been dismissed, what we call null process.”
That doesn’t mean everyone with a dismissed case is walking free.
“The cases that had other charges involved, those cases, those charges are still going forward,” Lopez explained.
Still, the change has already reshaped her workload. And she knows the questions won’t stop anytime soon.
“Of course, any time that there's a change in the law, and this is probably one of the most significant changes in the law that we have seen in the last couple of decades. There are people who are very excited about this. They think this is great. There are other people who are very, very concerned,” Lopez said.
What hasn’t changed
Lopez is quick to caution that the new law doesn’t erase every restriction.
“The cautionary tale, though, is nothing has changed in terms of kids still can't have guns. Convicted felons still cannot have guns. People who have domestic violence injunctions against them still cannot have guns,” she said. “And so that is our office’s mission: public safety, keeping this community safe.”
There are also limits on where guns can be carried.
“You still can't have a gun in a courthouse or in a bar, in the bar portion of a restaurant, in a school, on school property, or in private businesses where that private business owner does not want someone to have a firearm on their property,” Lopez said.
Under Florida Statute § 790.06, even with a valid concealed weapon license, carrying a firearm; whether concealed or openly, is prohibited in the following locations:
- Any place of nuisance as defined in § 823.05.
- Any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station.
- Any detention facility, prison, or jail.
- Any courthouse.
- Any courtroom, except that a judge may carry a concealed weapon or determine who may carry a concealed weapon in their courtroom.
- Any polling place.
- Any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special district.
- Any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof.
- Any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms.
- Any elementary or secondary school facility or administration building.
- Any career center.
- Any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion is primarily devoted to that purpose.
- Any college or university facility unless the licensee is a registered student, employee, or faculty member of such college or university and the weapon is a stun gun or nonlethal electric weapon or device designed solely for defensive purposes and the weapon does not fire a dart or projectile.
- The inside of the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport, provided that no person shall be prohibited from carrying any legal firearm into the terminal, which firearm is encased for shipment for purposes of checking such firearm as baggage to be lawfully transported on any aircraft.
- Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law.
Violating these restrictions is considered a second-degree misdemeanor in Florida.
“If someone brings a firearm onto a private business… and that owner does not want that, that person will be asked to leave. If they don't leave, they are, of course, trespassing, but because they have a firearm, they've now gone from a misdemeanor trespass to an armed trespass. And that's a felony,” Lopez said.
“An armed trespass is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in the Florida State Prison,” she added.
A unit focused on gun violence
Lopez said her office is not abandoning its focus on gun-related crime. A special gun violence unit continues to monitor cases around the clock.
“Our gun violence unit is in contact with our law enforcement partners every day, including sometimes in the middle of the night, and they work hand in hand with them, because what we're going after are people who we call frequent trigger pullers,” Lopez said.
She says her office fully supports the Second Amendment, and her office’s mission is clear:
“We support all of the rights and privileges given to us by the Constitution, but this is a situation where we are still focused on gun violence and preventing gun violence.”
‘Pro training’
Brian Anderson-Needham has noticed the big interest in this change. He's the owner of Weapon Brand and a member of the United States Concealed Carry Association.
“Absolutely every day,” Anderson-Needham said. “Since it started to unfold, and now that it's getting closer to the 25th of September, we're getting more and more questions about it, mainly having to do with what our beliefs are in it, and then training.”
Anderson-Needham is firm about where his organization stands.
“We're not pro gun, we're not anti gun. We're pro training,” he said. “The second I draw that firearm, it's not just my firearm anymore. It's our firearm. Only mine to defend. So having that weapon retention type of training, having that being able to clear stoppages, and just understanding situational awareness — what's going on around me.”
The risks of being visible
Anderson-Needham said open carry shifts the way a gun owner interacts with the public, and with potential threats.
“With carrying openly, you're no longer stealth mode. You're no longer concealed. You could now also be a target,” he said.
Demonstrating the difference, he tugged at his shirt. “If I lift this shirt to get to that gun, now that's no longer concealed. This is concealed,” he explained.
Training never ends
Even lifelong carriers, Anderson-Needham said, can’t afford to get complacent.
“Those skills become perishable. So to answer your question directly, those skills are perishable. So train, train, train. And even if you've had the training before, sharpen up on that training,” he said.
A Marine veteran, Anderson-Needham recalled shooting with his son, also a Marine.
“When he came to visit me, he said, Let's go shooting. And I knew I would, I'd beat him every day of the week, but maybe that day, because those skills become perishable.”
A Florida adjustment
Anderson-Needham expects the law will inspire new gun owners to test the waters.
“There's going to be some people that think, this is my ticket. This is my time. Let me try it out. Let me test the waters a little bit. And I would suggest for those people, just think about what you're doing. Be conscious of what you're really putting yourself into,” he said.
And he warned that not everyone is ready to see more firearms in public.
“If people haven't watched the news, if they don't know that this statute is coming in, people are going to see somebody with a gun without a badge. And obviously that could incite some panic,” he said. “Texas, they've been doing it for a while. It's worked well for them. We're not Texas. We're Florida.”
Rights and responsibilities
For both prosecutors and trainers, the message circles back to responsibility.
Lopez said her office will continue focusing on those who use guns illegally.
“If you commit a crime and you use a firearm, that is still against the law, and we're going to hold you accountable for that,” she said.
Anderson-Needham put it more bluntly:
“Just because you can doesn't always mean that you should.”
How Florida got here
Florida lawmakers passed the open carry law earlier this year after months of debate in Tallahassee. Supporters argued that it expanded constitutional rights and brought the state in line with others that already allow open carry. Opponents warned that it could create confusion for law enforcement and fear in public spaces.
The bill cleared the Republican-controlled Legislature in the spring and was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis shortly after. Lawmakers set the effective date for Sept. 25 to give state agencies, law enforcement and prosecutors time to prepare for the shift.
Florida joins more than 30 states that allow some form of open carry. But, as Lopez and Anderson-Needham both stressed, the law still comes with boundaries and with responsibilities that Floridians will be learning in real time.
“It's been a little stressful. I don't know when I'll be able to do it.”
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