An attendee at a gun-rights rally open carries his gun in a holster on Jan. 18, 2019, at the Capitol in Olympia, Washington. | Ted S. Warren, AP
Published on September 9, 2025 at 11:40 am
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Gov. Ron DeSantis signaled Monday that he will again push lawmakers to allow people to openly carry guns in Florida.
“We should be an open-carry state,” DeSantis said during an appearance at G Five Feed & Outdoor in Plant City to mark the start of a sales-tax “holiday” that will provide sales-tax exemptions on guns, ammunition and fishing and camping equipment through the end of the year.
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“I think we’re on record many times saying that hopefully this is the year. We’ll continue to fight for those freedoms,” DeSantis said.
Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, who was with DeSantis in Plant City, backed the effort.
Open carry legislation
The proposal has not been approved during past legislative sessions. For example, Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, has pointed to opposition expressed by law enforcement officers.
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“Let me be clear about this: I’ve supported law enforcement my entire life,” Albritton told reporters in November. “It’s the way I was raised, and I’ve been super-consistent as a legislator to support law enforcement in Florida. And I stand with them today in opposition (of allowing people to openly carry guns). They oppose it. I trust my law enforcement officials, and that’s where I stand.”
Floridians can carry concealed weapons in most places. A constitutional challenge to the ban on openly carrying guns is pending in federal court in St. Lucie County.
