HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Starting on Sept. 25, open carry is legal in the state of Florida. For the first time in decades, legal gun owners can now openly carry firearms in public.
This change follows a court ruling earlier this month that struck down the state's long-standing open carry ban.
This marks a major turning point in Florida's approach to gun rights, and it’s a move that is sparking both celebration and concern across the state.
WATCH: Open carry is now legal in Florida
It sparked immediate backlash from Florida Democrats and some student groups.
“Open carry has absolutely no place on campus,” said Madelyn Probst from Florida State University (FSU).
Many students at FSU pointed to the deadly campus shooting back in April.
Gun rights activists and firearm businesses are celebrating the change. Tampa Bay 28 spoke to Brian Anderson Needham. He is the owner of Weapon Brand and a member of the U.S. concealed carry association. He said the new law has triggered a lot of questions.
He said, “Carrying them openly, you’re no longer stealth mode, you’re no longer concealed, you could now also be a target. I believe in the right to do it, but I also believe there's going to be a lot more training situationally awareness-wise in order to have to do it.”
He said education is key, especially as Floridians adjust to the change. He also stressed the importance of training even for experienced gun owners.
It is important to note that Florida prohibits firearms 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.
Minors, convicted felons, and those with domestic violence injunctions are not able to carry a firearm.
Violating any of these restrictions is considered a second-degree misdemeanor in Florida. Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez said that it can be escalated quickly.
“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.
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