Nearly every anti-gun group in the country has descended upon Tallahassee to try to stop Florida from becoming the 26th state to allow residents and visitors to carry concealed firearms without a permission slip from the government.
It’s an important mission for the gun-ban industry, because once Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the bill – and he will – a majority of states will allow unlicensed or permitless carry. For pro-gun advocates, this would be a significant victory in the war to restore our Second Amendment rights, and the other team will do anything they can to prevent that from happening.
It’s important to point out that neither Florida’s HB 543 nor its companion bill, SB 150, are traditional constitutional-carry bills, since neither bill legalizes the open carry of arms. True constitutional carry allows gun owners to decide for themselves whether to carry arms openly or concealed. Despite Republican super-majorities in both the House and the Senate, and a governor who’s promised to sign “constitutional carry” legislation, open carry was not included in either bill. We still have not been told why, at least not officially.
In what has been called “smart bundling,” SB 150 also includes numerous school-safety provisions, such as expanding Florida’s School Guardian program, adding funds for hardening schools, providing additional money for gun-sniffing dogs, clarifying zero-tolerance policies and ensuring every law enforcement agency has an active-shooter policy. So, a vote against the bill can be seen as a vote against school safety.
Regardless of what the bill is called or its other offerings, the very thought of restoring more gun rights – especially in Florida – has brought the gun-banners out in droves. We’ve seen members of Everytown, Demanding Moms, Demanding Students, Giffords, Brady and Florida’s extremely anti-gun League of Women Voters all shuffle to the mic. Their testimony before House and Senate committees has been interesting, desperate and at times, comical. If the gun banners sent their A-team to Tallahassee and this is the best they can do, freedom will most certainly prevail.
It’s clear the gun-banners’ moves are well organized and orchestrated. Too many of their objections seemingly come from the same playbook. Keep in mind anti-gunners have phones, Skype and Zoom, too. They’re sharing information and ideas. Florida has become their latest battle template. They are throwing a lot of crap against the wall. That which sticks likely will be used in the next state they attempt to victimize.
Here are some of the lowlights of their testimony.
‘Untrained carry’
Currently, unless the gun owner has a DD 214, they must provide proof of training before qualifying for a Florida Concealed Weapon or Firearm License, or CWFL. One of the byproducts of HB 543 and SB 150 is an end to this training requirement because a CWFL will no longer be needed to carry a concealed firearm.
As you can imagine, more than a few rabid Demanders railed against “untrained carry,” even though nothing could be further from the truth.
Their tactic was unwittingly bolstered by Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who serves as the legislative chair of the powerful Florida Sheriff’s Association. Gualtieri testified about how poor some of this mandatory training had become. He described several firearm instructors who only required students to shoot one round into a water barrel before issuing them the certificate needed to obtain a CWFL.
Gualtieri’s comments, which are somewhat dated, set off a firestorm among the anti-gunners. Rather than allowing unlicensed carry, they said, the state should fix these training issues. The bills’ Republican supporters never adequately explained how any government requirement, even a training requirement, infringes upon the Second Amendment.
The gun banners never acknowledged that most Floridians who choose to carry a concealed firearm will seek professional training first, nor did they ever mention the more than 1.5 million well-trained veterans who call Florida home, many of whom have already put their training to use downrange.
‘No one wants the bill’
Most of the pro-gun advocates who testified at the House and Senate hearings said they supported the bill, but they wanted it amended to include open carry. One Demanding Mom seized upon this. “Apparently no one’s for this bill today,” she said. Several Democrats on this committee echoed her comments and called for the bill to be withdrawn.
It should be noted that NRA, GOA, NAGR and Florida Carry, Inc., have all voiced support for the legislation. Sure, it is hoped that it will be amended to include open carry, but it is still the most significant restoration of our gun rights since 1987. This was ignored by the legacy media who covered the hearings.
Frivolous amendments
It is clear the Democrats tried to amend these bills to death. However, every amendment the Democrats tried to tack on failed, which is a good thing for gun owners since they would have scuttled the legislation. Here are some of their amendments.
The Democrats wanted gun owners to:
- Obtain $100,000 worth of insurance if they “opt out” of the CWFL program and carry concealed.
- Be prohibited from possessing homemade firearms.
- Be prohibited from carrying in grocery stores, gas stations, music venues or any religious institution.
- Be prohibited from open carrying at concert venues and polling places. (Under current law, open carry at polling places is already prohibited, as is concealed carry at polling places.)
- Be prohibited from carrying firearms in cars.
- Submit to background checks for private sales or when a firearm is loaned to family members for hunting or recreation.
- Take a firearm safety class and pass a written exam.
- Provide a written statement from a Florida physician certifying they are mentally fit and free of drug abuse.
- Pass a mental health exam and drug screen.
- Take and pass a one-day firearm class that includes a live-fire test.
- Establish secure storage for guns and ammunition, which would be inspected by a law enforcement officer.
- Submit to fingerprinting and a background check.
- Be limited to carrying only one firearm at a time.
- Be prohibited from carrying a firearm if convicted of domestic violence. (Florida law already prohibits someone with a domestic-violence conviction from carrying a firearm.)
False Equivalencies, false statements
Throughout the bills’ three committee hearings there were numerous comparisons between driving a car and carrying a firearm: “You need a license to drive a car so you should also need a license to carry a gun,” they said. To be clear, driving is a privilege, but carrying a firearm is a constitutional right. Therefore, you don’t need a license to exercise a constitutional right.
Both HB 543 and SB 150 enjoy strong support from law enforcement, including the Florida Sheriff’s Association, the Florida Police Chiefs Association and the Police Benevolent Association, which represents rank-and-file officers and deputies. Despite this strong support, nearly everyone who testified against the legislation claimed that law enforcement opposed these bills because it would make their job more difficult. Even after Sheriff Gualtieri testified that the bills would not prove problematic for his deputies, the false claims continued unabated.
Going forward
Florida’s unlicensed concealed-carry bills are rocketing through the state legislature. Since the Republicans have super-majorities in both houses, no roadblocks are foreseen. The next legislative session begins March 7 and Gov. DeSantis will likely sign this legislation into law far sooner than its July 1st effective date.
This story is presented by the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project and wouldn’t be possible without you. Please click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support more pro-gun stories like this.
About Lee Williams
Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.
If you are a citizen of the USA, the law of the land already says you can own and carry at your discretion, and build or buy and possess what your needs and wants determine; the gov has no say, and is bound from infringing in any way on your choices or actions. That is the 2nd amendment. Live it.
I’ve lived in Florida all of my life. Let’s just say that it has been long enough to have been aware of the uproar when “shall issue” was being proposed, debated, and eventually passed in 1987. The “bed wetters” threw everything they could come up with to convince the people and the legislators that “shall issue” was a bad idea. Some of their arguments were sensible, but some were also ridiculous. We’ve seen the process repeated in every state that has followed Florida with “shall issue” and now in those that have led the way into “permitless carry”. (I refuse… Read more »
don’t forget the blood running in the streets, shoot-out at the ok corral, killings over parking spots. yeah, yeah, nothing good will come from law-abiding citizens from carrying firearms to protect themselves from predators, criminal and government that is.
maybe one day we will see the gun-free killing zones come off the prohibited places for lawful carry. don’t hold your breath though, progressives want more kids murdered so they can continue to push this narrative that inanimate objects are more dangerous than the criminal carrying them and therefore must be removed from society but not the criminal.
“True constitutional carry allows gun owners to decide for themselves whether to carry arms openly or concealed.”
True constitutional carry would be the repeal of all arms laws. Florida will still dictate who, what, when, where, and how you carry whether open carry is added to the bill or not and that is far from constitutional. Again, this is permitless carry at best.
If Desantis were truly pro 2 nd. amendment he would have already had it on his desk and signed,I smell RINO.
This whole idea driving is a privilege is complete nonsense. The vehicle took the place of a horse. Nothing more. Do people not understand where the nomenclature of Horsepower came from ? How many people were denied the right to a horse ?
Ron DeSantis denied people with CCWs to carry at his fund raiser . I would not count on RINO Ron to sign this if it clears the house and Senate in Florida . He does not appear to be a strong supporter of the second amendment. Actions speak louder than words . Typical politician pandering for votes but be careful he appears to be a rattlesnake .
To those who say ‘It’s better than nothing’ or ‘one step at a time’. Do you accept a cookie and a pat on the head instead of the full meal you are guaranteed? Is your vote for sale at such a cheap price?
This bill is so small that it should be rejected for the nothing that it is.
Keep giving your approval for nothing and they will happily continue to give you nothing. The RINOs love that deal.
I live in a state that has been an open carry state since the 1800’s
I will take this so called Constitutional carry bill for now.
One yard at a time wins the game more often a a hail Mary pass.