TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s attorney general is telling law enforcement and prosecutors to stop enforcing the state’s decades-old ban on openly carrying firearms, after a court ruling declared the prohibition unconstitutional.
In a letter sent Monday, Attorney General James Uthmeier said the McDaniels v. State decision by the First District Court of Appeal means “no Florida court will any longer be empowered to convict a defendant” under the ban, and that his office will no longer defend such prosecutions.
“Prudence counsels that prosecutors and law enforcement personnel should likewise refrain from arresting or prosecuting law-abiding citizens carrying a firearm in a manner that is visible to others,” Uthmeier wrote.
Court Decision
The guidance follows a unanimous ruling last week that struck down the 1987 open-carry statute, which made it a misdemeanor to visibly carry a firearm outside of limited exceptions, like hunting and fishing.
The case stemmed from the arrest of Stanley Victor McDaniels, a Pensacola man who carried a holstered handgun and waved a copy of the U.S. Constitution during a July 4, 2022, demonstration.
Writing for the panel, Judge Stephanie Ray said Florida’s law “cannot be reconciled” with the Second Amendment.
“The Constitution protects the right to carry arms openly for self-defense,” Ray wrote. “Florida’s Open Carry Ban cannot be reconciled with that guarantee. Section 790.053, Florida Statutes, is therefore declared unconstitutional.”
Historical Reasoning
The judges leaned heavily on the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen (2022) decision, which requires courts to judge modern firearm restrictions by text, history, and tradition. They found open carry was the “default mode of bearing arms” at the founding, while concealed carry was more often regulated.
The ruling reversed a 2017 Florida Supreme Court decision that upheld the ban, which at the time emphasized public safety and pointed to the availability of concealed-carry permits.
State Reaction
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has long supported open carry, praised the court’s decision on X last week, calling it consistent with his position and “the vast majority of states throughout the union.”
Uthmeier, despite his office previously defending the statute, also embraced the outcome. He said the ruling leaves intact other firearm limits, including prohibitions on threatening displays, felons in possession, gun-free zones like schools and courthouses, and private property rights to bar firearms.
On social media, he called it “a big win for the Second Amendment rights of Floridians.”
What’s Next
The decision vacates McDaniels’ conviction and immediately undercuts the state’s ability to enforce the open-carry ban. Florida could still seek a rehearing or ask the state Supreme Court to review the case, though that now seems unlikely.
For now, the ruling represents a seismic shift in Florida gun law, moving the state closer to the majority of others that already permit open display of firearms in public.
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