TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday instructed prosecutors and police to stop enforcing the state’s longstanding ban on openly carrying firearms, citing a new appellate decision that struck down the restriction as unconstitutional.
In guidance sent to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, Uthmeier said the 1st District Court of Appeal’s ruling in McDaniels v. State means “as of last week, open carry is the law of the state.”
“Because no other appellate court has considered the constitutionality of Florida’s open carry ban since the Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen, the 1st DCA’s decision is binding on all Florida’s trial courts,” Uthmeier said in a written statement. “Meaning that as of last week, open carry is the law of the state.”
The court found that Section 790.053, Florida Statutes, which barred most public display of handguns, conflicted with the Second Amendment and the Supreme Court’s direction in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. The panel concluded that “law-abiding, adult citizens have a right to carry ‘firearm openly in public.’”