Floridians Can Now Openly Carry Firearms Statewide

Florida’s long-standing ban on openly carrying a firearm (§ 790.053) has been struck down as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. That’s the bottom line reported by Jared Yanis of Guns & Gadgets Second Amendment News, who walked through the First District Court of Appeal’s decision in McDaniels v. State, noting the panel vacated the conviction and declared the statute invalid under the Supreme Court’s text-history-tradition framework from Bruen. Yanis emphasized that the court treated peaceable open carry as conduct covered by the Amendment’s plain text and found no historical analogue for Florida’s blanket prohibition.

The Case That Triggered the Change

Per Yanis’s summary, the facts were simple and telling: on July 4, 2022, in downtown Pensacola, Mr. McDaniels stood at an intersection waving at traffic while holstering a visible, loaded handgun in his waistband and holding a copy of the U.S. Constitution. He didn’t brandish the firearm. Nevertheless, police arrested him under § 790.053. A trial court rejected his constitutional challenge, but certified the Second Amendment question for appeal. The First DCA reversed, holding that Florida’s ban targets protected conduct and fails under Bruen.

From Heller to Bruen: The Court’s North Star

Yanis carefully traced the court’s roadmap: Heller (2008) recognized an individual right to possess and carry weapons for self-defense; McDonald (2010) incorporated that right against the states; and Bruen (2022) ended interest balancing and the old “two-step” scrutiny, replacing it with a historical test: (1) if the right’s text covers the conduct, protection is presumed; (2) the government then must show a historical tradition supporting its regulation. The First DCA also flagged that Florida’s prior approval of the open-carry ban in Norman (2017) relied on the now-repudiated intermediate-scrutiny approach – and thus cannot control a federal Second Amendment claim post-Bruen.

History Favors Open Carry as the Default

On the history, Yanis highlights the panel’s critical distinction between open and concealed carry. Nineteenth-century cases like Aymette (1840, Tenn.), Reid (1840, Ala.), Nunn (1846, Ga.), and Chandler (1850, La.) commonly upheld limits on concealed carry precisely because open carry remained lawful – preserving the core right while addressing ambush and dueling concerns. Florida’s own 1867 law did the same: it barred concealed carry but expressly allowed open carry “outside of all their clothes.” In other words, the historical default was open carry, not a comprehensive ban on bearing arms in public view. (Source: Jared Yanis)

Why the State’s Analogues Fell Flat

The state leaned on several historical sources, but the First DCA found them inapposite, as Yanis recounts. Medieval statutes like England’s Statute of Northampton targeted carrying “to the terror of the people,” not ordinary peaceable carry. Surety laws required bonds only after a complaint about a particular person—not blanket prohibitions. And “going armed to the terror” provisions punished wrongful intent, leaving peaceable carry intact. In the court’s telling, none of those threads supports Florida’s modern, categorical ban on open carry. (Source: Jared Yanis)

Is Open Carry Legal Right Now? The Procedural Fine Print

This is where timing matters. Yanis notes the opinion’s standard caveat: the decision isn’t final until the window for rehearing motions closes. But Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier posted on X that the open-carry ban is “no longer constitutionally enforceable statewide,” adding that his office supports the ruling and calling it a “big win” for Floridians’ rights. Tony Atkins of WESH 2 likewise reported that the Attorney General doesn’t plan to appeal and can instruct law enforcement not to enforce the ban pending legislative cleanup. In plain English: barring an unexpected procedural twist, the state’s top lawyer is treating open carry as legal now. 

The AG’s stance is a powerful signal to law enforcement and courts. Still, a prudent carrier should follow local agency guidance for the next few days while the formalities run their course – especially in large jurisdictions that may issue interim bulletins.

What Counts as Open Carry – and What Doesn’t

Atkins interviewed Chris Louissaint, a longtime Florida firearms instructor, who underscored a key point: open carry means holstered, plainly visible carry – not walking around with a pistol in your hand. “That would be considered [being] a danger to society,” he said, adding that owners must still respect restricted locations under federal and state law. Think: schools, courthouses, secured airport areas, and certain government buildings, among others. Bottom line: visibility doesn’t equal anything goes.

Two Visions of Public Safety

Atkins captured reactions on both sides. Anthony Sabatini, former state representative and now a Lake County commissioner, praised the ruling as “legally correct” and rooted in the Second Amendment’s text and history; he expects no appeal and looks forward to “carrying more freely.” State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith warned the change is a “double whammy” in a state that already has permitless carry, predicting “unrestricted carry” and “visible, loaded guns almost anywhere in public.” These frames – rights restoration vs. public-safety concern—are the debate Floridians will continue to hear.

“Almost anywhere” overstates it. Even with open carry recognized, sensitive-place prohibitions, private-property rights (no-guns policies), and conduct-based crimes (brandishing, threats) remain in force. The right to carry isn’t a right to disregard time, place, and manner rules that fit our historical tradition.

What TV News Adds: A Plain-English Read for Owners

Jennifer Titus of 10 Tampa Bay reviewed the opinion with Professor Alfredo Garcia (St. Thomas University, emeritus). Garcia’s simplified takeaway: if you own a gun, you can carry it openly in public; the court made clear that open carry isn’t interchangeable with concealed carry. Titus also reported the Attorney General’s supportive post and his lack of interest in seeking further review.

One clarification: Florida adopted permitless concealed carry in 2023. A state license is no longer required to conceal (though many still obtain it for reciprocity and training). Garcia’s broader point stands: open and concealed have historically been treated differently, and this ruling specifically vindicates open carry.

How Florida Now Fits Nationally

Yanis notes that Florida had been in rare company – California, Connecticut, Illinois – generally prohibiting open carry statewide. With § 790.053 down, Florida aligns with the national majority that allow some form of open carry for law-abiding adults. Expect practical ripple effects: agencies will have to update training, revise manuals, and re-message community guidance; businesses may revisit signage; and visitors should check rules for sensitive places and private property before strapping on a sidearm. (Source: Jared Yanis)

Practical Tips for Responsible Open Carry

Open carry isn’t a dare; it’s an exercise in judgment. Use a quality retention holster, avoid unnecessary handling, and be mindful of cover garments that accidentally convert your carry from “open” to “concealed” (and vice-versa). Expect – and defuse – curious or nervous reactions. If police engage, keep hands visible, be calm, and follow lawful commands. Remember Louissaint’s counsel: the responsibility is yours to know where carry is prohibited and how to carry safely. 

What Comes Next – Courts and Capitol

Could there be late motions for rehearing or en banc? In theory, yes. But with AG Uthmeier publicly endorsing the ruling and forswearing an appeal, the more likely next steps are legislative: cleaning up § 790.053 and harmonizing related statutes and training standards. Meanwhile, expect the Bruen framework – so central to Yanis’s analysis – to keep reshaping public-carry cases in other jurisdictions that still lean on generalized “public safety” rationales untethered to history.