Florida Open Carry: What Changes After Court Ruling
Rick Outzen
This is the third in a series of podcasts concerning the recent appellate court decision lifting Florida’s open carry prohibition. We have interviewed Escambia Sheriff Chip Simmons, attorney Chris Crawford, who represented Stan McDaniels, and State Rep. Alex Andrade, who discussed the implications of this decision, offering insights into what gun owners can expect and how legislators plan to address the changes.
Andrade said, “I’m happy about this ruling. I think this ruling is common sense. It goes in line with my understanding of the Second Amendment.”
Not an Earth-Shattering Change
According to Andrade, while the ruling eliminates Florida’s blanket restriction on public firearm carrying, it’s hardly revolutionary. “I don’t see this as an earth-shattering shift here for Florida. I think there’s only a small handful, maybe five states, that don’t have open carry right now.”
He believes “the folks that are most affected by this are firearms enthusiasts, people with concealed carry licenses who also like to wear tight jeans or don’t like to wear jackets because now they can carry their firearms more comfortably.”
Andrade offers common sense advise: “It’s probably a good rule of thumb for folks to say, if I’m prohibited from carrying concealed in X area, like a place that with over 50% of all sales relates to alcohol, I probably shouldn’t carry openly either, just because I think that there’s an argument to say that just because a firearm’s being openly carried, it doesn’t exempt you from the prohibition on carrying concealed in that same environment.”
Legislative Cleanup and Law Enforcement Clarity
Some statutory language cleanup will be necessary since many laws reference “concealed” carrying specifically. However, Andrade said: “I’d be hesitant to do anything that would remotely expand restrictions on the caring and use of firearms.”
The Cardinal Rule: Carrying vs. Brandishing
Like Sheriff Chip Simmons and others, Andrade stressed the crucial distinction between carrying and using firearms.
“There’s a vast chasm for me between the carrying of a firearm and the brandishing of a firearm,” he stated. He was emphatic about proper use: “There’s no circumstance unless you are confident that you are an imminent threat of harm to yourself or someone else, like actual imminent threat of severe bodily injury, that firearm better stay in its holster.”
His final warning was clear: “Firearms are not supposed to be used to get an upper handed an argument. I mean, these are serious weapons that can cause significant damage. You need to treat them with the respect that they deserve.”
