Gov. Ron DeSantis signaled Monday he will again push lawmakers to allow people to openly carry guns in Florida.
“We should be an open-carry state,” DeSantis said during an appearance at G Five Feed & Outdoor in Plant City to mark the start of a sales tax “holiday” that will provide sales tax exemptions on guns, ammunition and fishing and camping equipment through the end of the year. “I think we're on record many times saying that hopefully this is the year. We'll continue to fight for those freedoms,”
DeSantis said. Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, who was with DeSantis in Plant City, backed the effort.
The proposal has not been approved during past legislative sessions. For example, Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, has pointed to opposition expressed by law-enforcement officers.
“Let me be clear about this, I’ve supported law enforcement my entire life. It’s the way I was raised, and I’ve been super-consistent as a legislator to support law enforcement in Florida. And I’d encourage you to check that record,” Albritton told reporters in November. “And I stand with them today in opposition (of allowing people to openly carry guns). They oppose it. I trust my law-enforcement officials, and that’s where I stand.”
Floridians can carry concealed weapons in most places.
A constitutional challenge to the ban on openly carrying guns is pending in federal court in St. Lucie County.
