Florida Takes a Dangerous Turn With Permitless Carry
The state made real progress on guns following the 2018 Parkland school massacre. Five years later, it’s foolishly reversing course.
A tragic anniversary.
Photographer: Saul Martinez/Getty Images North America
After winning reelection in November with nearly 60% of the vote, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had political capital to spend on any number of priorities. Sadly, he’s settled on one of the most ill-considered choices available: allowing the public to carry concealed firearms without a license.
The policy is as bad as it sounds. It removes any requirement for a gun owner to obtain a license or take a training course to carry a concealed weapon in public (a license is still required to carry a firearm visibly). The bill is now advancing through the legislature, and given its Republican supermajority and the governor’s backing, it’s likely to become law. Florida would thus become the 26th state to legalize “permitless carry” (or “constitutional carry,” as fundamentalists call it).