Opinion: Open Carry of Firearms

There has been much discussion in Bay County about whether or not open carry of firearms should be allowed in Florida. The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on December 15, 1791, could not be any clearer, stating, "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Mark Twain opined, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” Bob White, Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida, and candidate for the Florida House in District 32 said, "That is certainly the case as it relates to Florida statutes related to firearms and weapons. The lie, of course, is that our statutes allow constitutional carry. They do not. They only allow permitless concealed carry. The statutes fall woefully short of having provisions that would be required for the statutes to truthfully be referred to as constitutional carry. There are so many abridgments of our Second Amendment rights contained in Florida statutes that to call them constitutional is an insult to our intelligence. The Florida statutes do not provide for open carry, a right enjoyed by the citizens of 45 other states. Of the 5 states that don't, Florida is the only "red state". Even California allows open carry in what are defined as "rural counties", those with populations of less than 250,000."

Bob White continues, "From a practical standpoint, given the media's bias against firearms in general, if there were problems with open carry resulting in deaths, injuries, assaults, etc. in the 45 states allowing open carry, we would certainly be hearing all about it. Clearly, blood is not running in the streets of these 45 states. The fact is that even though it's allowed, it's not a right that is routinely exercised by many, and the few that do are typically well-trained, responsible and even professional practitioners or they have a specific reason to, unique to their profession or circumstances. The vast majority of us that currently carrying concealed in Florida will continue to carry concealed even if allowed to carry openly."

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