I knew that the senior senator in the Florida legislature had taken this position. I’m not sure I have faith or confidence in Ron Desantis any more. He could put a stop to this charade with one simple sentence: “I will not sign any more legislation until an open carry bill is brought to my desk. That includes shutdown of the Florida government.”
But he doesn’t do this.
The main reason I’m lifting prose out of this article at Bearing Arms is to point out yet another lie that they have bought.
Florida’s not anti-gun, though it’s not as pro-gun as some like to think. Still, getting open carry should be easy and yet, the fight is still going to be a rough one.
Efforts to pass open carry legislation in Florida are faltering, even with strong backing from Gov. Ron DeSantis. Senate President Ben Albritton, newly installed in his leadership role, has voiced opposition to the measure, aligning with concerns from law enforcement groups.
Albritton, a Republican, said last week he stands with the Florida Sheriffs Association, which has consistently opposed open carry policies.
“I trust my law enforcement officials, and that’s where I stand,” Albritton said, signaling little appetite for pushing the controversial measure forward.
Florida currently prohibits openly carrying firearms in public spaces, except in limited circumstances such as hunting, fishing or target shooting. That stance makes it one of only four states in the nation with such restrictions.
Gov. DeSantis has publicly expressed his support for open carry and suggested earlier this year that the Legislature could revisit the issue. The debate comes months after Florida adopted a permit-less concealed carry law, a measure DeSantis and other Republican leaders hailed as a victory for Second Amendment rights.
However, some gun rights advocates were disappointed that the bill stopped short of allowing individuals to openly carry firearms in public. Groups like Florida Carry argue the state’s refusal to expand gun rights further undermines constitutional freedoms.
“It’s a fundamental right that the state continues to deny its citizens,” said Richard Nascak, co-executive director of Florida Carry. “There’s no logical reason for Florida to lag behind the majority of the country on this issue.”
Then, Tom Knighton waffles and genuflects over a falsehood.
Albritton’s reason for opposing this is a big problem.
Look, I respect law enforcement as a general thing, but they’re also trying to do a job and they don’t like the idea of anything that makes their jobs the least bit more difficult. That’s understandable, but we also need to remember that we can find law enforcement groups who don’t really like Fourth Amendment protections on your vehicle or mobile device, either, because it makes things harder on them while trying to do their job.
No, and a thousand times no, that has nothing whatsoever to do with their reason for opposition. Oh, the LEOs are opposed because they won’t be “special” anymore. But LEOs are always opposed to open carry by anyone but them.
No, the real reason for this opposition in the senate is that they think this will hurt tourism. And the real problem Tom should be addressing is that this is all lies. It doesn’t hurt tourism. It didn’t in S.C. either. It doesn’t cause blood to run in the streets. It doesn’t cause LEOs to have more problems with doing their jobs. It doesn’t matter how someone carries their firearms. Peaceable men could have their firearm concealed and yet unholster it by the time LEOs arrive on the scene (like almost always happens) and LEOs still wouldn’t know who had carried openly and who had carried concealed.
That objection is literally a stupid objection crafted for people stupid enough to buy it.
Tom at Bearing Arms needs to think a bit harder.
