The pro-freedom group Gun Owners of America recently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida challenging the state’s decades-long ban on the open carry of firearms.
The statute, which makes it “unlawful for any person to openly carry on or about his or her person any firearm or electric weapon or device,” has been in effect and infringing on the rights of lawful Floridians since 1893. Despite Florida’s gun-friendly status, it is one of only four states where open carry is still wholly banned.
And while Florida has joined more than half of the other states in the union as constitutional or “permitless” carry states, that law only applies to concealed firearms, not those carried openly.
“Florida lawmakers claim to be pro-gun, but year after year, they’ve refused to repeal the 1987 ban on open carry, leaving Floridians in the very anti-gun company of New York, Illinois, and California where this is also prohibited,” said Erich Pratt, GOA senior vice president. “GOA has been left with no choice but to sue the state, especially since GOA’s open carry bill was blocked by the Republican legislative leadership during the 2024 session’s first week.”
The lawsuit, GOA v. Pearson, argues that the law is unconstitutional because it directly infringes on the Second Amendment right of Floridians to keep and bear arms.
“Despite its reputation as a largely gun-friendly state, Florida inexplicably continues to prohibit the peaceable carrying of firearms in an open and unconcealed manner,” the complaint states.
“This blatant infringement of the Second Amendment right to ‘bear arms’ runs counter to this nation’s historical tradition and would have criminalized the very colonists who openly carried their muskets and mustered on the greens at Lexington and Concord to fight for their independence.”
The complaint points out that a complete prohibition on open carry of firearms is directly unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.
“The Second Amendments plain text contradicts the notion that an open carry ban is permissible—after all, the amendment was designed to guarantee the ability of the body politic to form a “well-regulated Militia”—meaning well-trained, armed to the teeth, and competent to resist oppression from foreign aggressors and domestic tyrants,” the complaint states. “No conventional military force in history ever has been confined to covert carry of concealable firearms (ie., Small handguns), and thus the Second Amendment was designed to secure something far more substantial than carrying a snub-nosed revolver in one’s pocket while grocery shopping.”
As GOA also mentioned in the lawsuit, the Florida open carry ban was adopted decades after Reconstruction and more than a century after the Second Amendment was ratified. “To make matters worse, that 1893 carry ban openly targeted only a disfavored subset of the population—newly freed Blacks—while Whites enjoyed de facto immunity from enforcement,” according to the complaint.
In the end, GOA is asking the court to declare that the statute violates both the Second and Fourteenth amendments, and preliminarily and permanently enjoin all Florida law enforcement from enforcing the law.
Nice picture of a ‘gun grab’ holster for open carry.
.40, You bet. This holster for “open carry” is an invitation to a criminal. Even my carry holsters are Tier III retention holsters.
I use only Level I retention holsters, and own a single Level II for use under a specific situation. I’ve tried L3, but can’t stand them due to the complexity that gets in the way of a quick draw, and in fact they have been prohibited in every single professional training course (led by an academy or department, not simply a private instructor) I’ve ever taken in my life, without exception.
TEHO, of course, and use a L3 if it works best for you, but not for me.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had a problem with drawing my GLOCK from my Level III. In this neck of the woods, every police and Sheriff’s Dept issues a Level III holster to its officers.
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My ‘carry’ open carry holsters are level II, I have some level III I do use too though sometimes but mostly use the level II.
I had a few hundred holsters – 99.9% of them I got for free, the big name brands and some not so big name brands. My brother is a free lance broker for the firearms industry and they give him all sorts of stuff for free, sometimes its guns (legally transferred BTW), but mostly its ‘accessories’ like optics and holsters and various other things a company might want to market to a market sector. He gives most of it to me, although I have gotten some of the guns (again, legally transferred BTW – from him to me). This gave me lots of stuff to try out or use, holsters among them.
I used to, after I had collected enough of these holsters or optics or what ever (except the guns), take them to the range and let people just take them for free, brand new most still in the original packaging (if I had not opened it to try it out). There were a lot of these ‘zero retention level’ (those friction retention things you adjust the screw for) holsters for open carry use. Various in kydex or leather.
I rarely open carry, mostly to or from the range, but one day I was going to run a quick errand for my wife after coming home from the range. So I grabbed the open carry holster I had worn to the range since it was still out, put it on and slide the gun in, CLICK, and go to the store. Was waiting in the checkout line, and a guy tried to grab my gun. He didn’t have a good grip on the gun but its was beginning to come out of the holster as I grabbed his hands to keep him from getting it. I won the fight, he ran, I still had the gun.
When I got home from that after the interaction with the police from reporting it, I pulled out every one of the few hundred ‘click’ retention (friction retention) holsters I had at the time, brand new still in the packaging, and cut them into pieces and threw the pieces in the trash and never gave another one away and kept only the level II or Level III holsters (which I still give away today if I am not going to use them). If my brother comes up with a new one of those zero retention holsters, I cut it up and throw the pieces away or tell him to keep it.
Yep, that ‘click’ retention (friction retention) everyone goes nuts for and manufacturers tout as somehow a level of retention – its not retention no matter how many people say it is and not to worry ’cause ‘gun grabs’ are rare.
The actual act of a gun grab might not happen every day everywhere, but it does happen.
I rarely open carry though, mostly its too or from the range if I do.
Gun grabs happen extremely rarely unless you’re a liberal politician.
attempted gun grabs happen more than you think, you just don’t hear about them unless the grabber actually gets away with the gun.
Here in NYS, you are not permitted “open carry”. I still use my Level III when I carry and I carry a GLOCK Mod22 (full sized). No one ever sees it. When properly trained, a Level III is an excellent piece of equipment for a citizen carrying.
True.
And in my 30+ years of training and carry with L1 and LII, I’ve never had a mishap. Training is key. Choose what you prefer, and train with it.
I prefer L1.
Here in NYS, you are not permitted “open carry”. I still use my Level III when I carry and I carry a GLOCK Mod22 (full sized). No one ever sees it. When properly trained, a Level III is an excellent piece of equipment for a citizen carrying. Depends on your level of training.
for a state that routinely experiences hurricanes and other natural disasters this measure is remarkably short-sighted…there are times it is wise to openly display weapons when help is not near…shades of Katrina!
Florida statute allows for open carry 24 hours during a natural disaster (i.e. hurricane, tornado, flooding, or wildfire) based on the announcement of an evacuation.
Do you have a cite for that? It isn’t in 790.053 (open carry statute) and 790.01(5)(a) permits concealed carry within 48 hours of an evacuation warning for a natural disaster for anyone not normally eligible to conceal carry and legally possessed of a firearm.
Multi-barreled guns must be regulated such that all the barrels (usually 2) shoot to the same point of aim at a given distance (usually 40 yds for shotguns).
The action on pianos must be regulated such that the keys all require an appropriate and equal level of pressure, and distance of hammer travel and rebound.
The valves on internal and external combustion engines must be regulated to ensure a smooth-running motor.
Yawn.
We dont need anymore regulations, especially on guns.
And I hope GOA wins hands-down.
CT recently banned open carry following several court decisions declaring that it hadn’t been banned in spite of numerous people being arrested for it under brandishing statutes.
Open carry in Florida is not “wholly banned.” Open carry is legal while hunting, fishing, camping and traveling/to from. Even if GOA is successful you’ll never see me open carry among the general public. Like the guys who have their car stereo cranked up, I feel like a lot of guys who want to open carry suffer from the “look at me syndrome.”
If it becomes legal, I might carry my NAA Mini-Revolver in a belt-buckle holster or tucked in the watch pocket of my jeans…
Gadsden Flag,
I agree in the general sense.
I can also make an argument that responsible open carry under certain conditions (with very positive associations) promotes normalization and public acceptance of being armed in public for righteous self-defense.
A BAD example of open carry to promote public acceptance:
A lone man dressed in “tactical” clothing skulking around with a scowl on his face.
A GOOD example of open carry to promote public acceptance:
A man or woman dressed in conservative nice attire, with his/her children, doing something upbeat, with a smile on his/her face, and with a friendly attitude toward strangers.
That last example advances a positive image and association for observers who may have bought into the Democrat narrative that armed citizens are seething cauldrons of rage who will explode at the slightest provocation. Plus, that last example may get some people (who are inherently neutral about being armed in public but never thought about it) to think about the risk of violent crime in public and how they could be another everyday person who tools-up for self-defense.
Good food for thought, Uncommon.
Aside from LEOs and marches, I’ve seen only one person open carrying in a general public space here in Ohio, and it was a bad example guy at Walmart during covid. If you were to observe from above, you would have seen folks giving him a wide berth as he went through the store. I thought like you do, “yeah buddy, I support your right to do that, and mine if the need ever arises, but there may be a better way…” But that’s just my opinion, and like I wrote, I’m glad I live in a place where it’s legal for him to do that.
Tons of folks OC in my town. I even OC in Vegas, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, and grocery stores, and nobody gives me the googly eyes aside from tourists.
Uncommon, I understand your point. However, I’m willing to wager that you’ll see more of the former than the latter.
GF, the yahoos will fuck it up for everybody else… 🙁
I think it is largely governed by the circumstances…walking into a Walmart with an AR-15 is a bit much…those that do it just want to show they can without any consideration of those around you…defending your home or your neighborhood after a disaster is a wholly different thing…looters have shown themselves to be a problem…sometimes even showing up armed
remember seeing fishermen being harassed in places like Miami for doing this…
I agree with you. Open carry should not be against the law but I would never open carry. It’s like advertising “I’m carrying” which can be an invitation to trouble.
My take: open carry on private properties (by owner or with owner’s permission) = good!
Open carry in public spaces = maybe, maybe not…
There is NO reason a person riding fence, clearing access roads or watching for varmints/squatters/shoplifters/extortionists should have to worry about running afoul of the law or LE in relation to mode of carry.
Divorce court, to take an extreme example? Sorry, not a good idea in general for plaintiff/respondent or their attorneys to be armed. If I was on the debate team, I could “reasonably” argue that society might benefit in the *long* term from guns in divorce court, but the short term case would impossible…
“…society might benefit in the *long* term from guns in divorce court…”
–chuckle–
Settle the divorce with a duel. 12 paces at dawn, in front of the courthouse steps.
The issue arises when a law enforcement officer decides that the slight bulge under your shirt or flash under jacket is probably a firearm and wants to investigate further.
“Despite its reputation as a largely gun-friendly state, Florida inexplicably continues to prohibit the peaceable carrying of firearms in an open and unconcealed manner,”
Inexplicably?! Really!?
Not.
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You saw rifles in pickup truck windows right up until Disney moved in to central Florida.
Can’t have the farmers and Crackers coming into town with loaded guns on display.
It just frightens them tourists from the NE Yankees to the Europeans.
They’re afraid they’ll slip in the blood running down the streets. /sarc off/
You are absolutely correct! Tourism and all the $$$$ it brings is Florida’s cash cow. No one in a position of elected authority wants to scare off the tourist. Imagine the HORROR of all the liberals if they walk into the Destin Walmart for their weeks worth of stuff and see a local open carrying a firearm and then cancel next years $16,000 a week beach front rental. OMG!
especially the Europeans…who have become a larger part of the tourist trade
My long shirt covers my waist band holster.
I understand why open carry is not a good idea. There are way too many people out there in public who go apoplectic at the mere sight of a handgun. Carrying concealed allows you to walk in past those stupid “NO FIREARMS ALLOWED” signs where there are no metal detectors to protect you on those premises. Signs don’t stop mass shooters. Signs only attract mass shooters because mass shooters want a big kill ratio and don’t want to encounter an armed victim.
Wether you are for it or against it, wether you’d never do it or you would all doesn’t matter. The government saying you can’t is the problem. I’m not big on open carry but I fully support anyone right to do so. And truthfully if Florida removed this unconstitutional ban I will probably open carry at times just for the purpose that people need to be comfortable seeing it. They don’t have to like it but they need to stop clogging up 911 centers because someone has a firearm in a holster or slung over their shoulder. As gun owners/supports we should all support this lawsuit and pressure our local state house reps to get rid of it.
Maryland also forbids Open Carry .
At present open carry is legal here in AL. And when around the homestead or running into one of the area small towns I usually do have on a gun belt and revolver.
If going down to the Gulf, into most higher population areas or areas frequented by the tourist crowd I do change out for concealed carry. Just avoids some problems with idiots who fear inanimate objects.
For many decades Indiana was silent on the issue of open carry. The license to carry merely said Carrie and did not designate any specific way to do so. The larger majority of people assumed that meant open carry was completely legal. About 15 years back a number of gun owners decided to force the issue by open carrying their handguns in many different places throughout Indiana. There were some exciting situations, as cops had no clue how to handle it and usually came down heavy-handed and brutish. Finally, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled about 10 years ago that the mere sight of an openly carried handgun was not sufficient to raise reasonable suspicion for law enforcement to perform a stop and check. I’d like to say that solved at 100% but it didn’t. Probably 90%. There are always stupid cops out there who never seemed to get the message correct.