A Florida appeals court has delivered a major victory for gun rights advocates, declaring the state’s decades-old ban on open carry unconstitutional in a ruling that could reshape firearms law across the state.
In McDaniels v. State of Florida, the First District Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that Florida Statute 790.053, which has prohibited the open carrying of firearms since 1987, violates the Second Amendment. The decision reverses the conviction of Stanley Victor McDaniels, who was arrested on July 4, 2022, for openly carrying a holstered handgun while holding a copy of the Constitution at a Pensacola intersection.
- Background: McDaniels was running for the Escambia County Commissioner District 4 seat at the time.
The Legal Framework Shift
The court’s decision hinges on the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which changed how courts evaluate gun laws. Rather than applying the previous “means-end scrutiny” that balanced public safety interests against constitutional rights, courts must now determine whether modern firearms regulations align with America’s historical tradition of gun regulation.
The Florida court found that open carry clearly falls within the Second Amendment’s plain text protection of the right to “bear arms.” More crucially, the state failed to demonstrate that prohibiting open carry has a historical precedent dating to the founding era or Reconstruction period.
- The ruling highlights a key historical distinction that many modern observers overlook: open carry and concealed carry were viewed very differently in early America. Historical court decisions cited in the opinion show that open carry was considered the honorable, lawful method of bearing arms, while concealed carry was associated with “cowardly” behavior and “unmanly assassinations.”
Multiple 19th-century state supreme courts upheld concealed carry bans precisely because they preserved the right to carry openly. As the Tennessee Supreme Court wrote in 1840, arms “must necessarily be borne openly” to fulfill their constitutional purpose.
What’s Next?
This ruling makes Florida potentially the 46th state to allow some form of open carry, leaving only California, Illinois, and Connecticut with broad prohibitions. However, the decision isn’t final until any appeals are resolved, and the state may petition the Florida Supreme Court for review.
For now, McDaniels’s conviction stands vacated, and Florida’s open carry ban remains unenforceable pending final resolution of any appeals.
2022 Interview with McDaniel’s
In July 2022, I interviewed McDaniels after his arrest. He discussed his campaign and the arrest.
“Fourth of July, it’s the day we celebrate our independence,” he said. “Everybody decides to celebrate their independence in different ways. I’ve got lots of friends that were on boats. They go out to watch the fireworks in the evening.”
He continued, “Well, I decided to celebrate it by showing my freedom to anyone that passed by. I think I was very cordial about it. I didn’t go to a very well populated area. I didn’t have some kind of big black gun strapped to my chest. All I did was tuck my shirt in.”
McDaniels added, “I’ve been shaking a lot of hands. I’ve been getting a lot of petitions signed, and the only thing different I did on 4th of July was tuck my shirt in.”
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