A Florida appeals court on Wednesday rule that the state’s ban on open carrying firearms was unconstitutional. File Photo UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo
A Florida appeals court has ruled that the state’s ban on adults openly carrying firearms in public is unconstitutional, handing gun rights activists a victory.
The three-judge panel of the First District Court of Appeal for the State of Florida issued its ruling Wednesday, stating the decades-old law was in violation of the Constitution’s Second Amendment right to bear arms.
“No historical tradition supports Florida’s Open Carry Ban. To the contrary, history confirms that the right to bear arms in public necessarily includes the right to do so openly,” Judge Stephanie Ray wrote in the court’s ruling.
“That is not to say that open carry is absolute or immune from reasonable regulation. But what the State may not do is extinguish the right altogether for ordinary, law-abiding adult citizens.”
Enacted in 1987, Florida’s so-called open carry ban makes it unlawful for any person to openly carry any firearm.
The ruling comes in a case brought by Stanley Victor McDaniels over his arrest and conviction under the law.
McDaniels was arrested July 4, 2022, at a downtown Pensacola intersection where he had been standing with the Constitution in one hand and a firearm visible in his belt. He told arresting officers that he intended to take his case to the Supreme Court.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a statement that his office supports the decision.
“This is a big win for the Second Amendment rights of Floridians,” he said on X.
“As we’ve all witnessed over the last few days, our God-given right to self-defense is indispensable.”
Sheriff Wayne Ivey of Florida’s Brevard County said in a video statement it was “an incredible ruling,” one that not only upholds the Constitution but “gives every Florida citizen the ability to protect themselves and those around them.”
He said he has directed his deputies to no longer enforce the open carry ban.
“So, my ask to you as sheriff is that you help protect the right to now openly carry a firearm in the state of Florida by being responsible and safe,” he said.
Forty-six states allow some form of open carry, while California, Florida, Illinois and New York, along with Washington, D.C., prohibit it.
