Gun owners display their guns in holsters. | File image
Published on September 11, 2025 at 4:26 pm
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Several local police departments have instructed officers not to enforce Florida’s ban on open carry of guns, a day after a court found the ban unconstitutional.
The latest was the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. In a social media post Thursday, the department said adults who can legally possess a firearm cannot be stopped from openly carrying it in most public places.
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The Clay County, Bradford County and Columbia County sheriff’s offices issued similar statements.
The statements came after a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that Florida’s ban on open carry is unconstitutional. Pointing to U.S. Supreme Court rulings on Second Amendment issues, the panel said the open carry ban is incompatible with the nation’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
Despite the ruling, businesses, stores and private property owners still may prohibit open or concealed carry of firearms on their premises. And restrictions to open carry remain in places such as courthouses, police and sheriff’s offices and certain government buildings as well as elementary, middle and high school campuses.
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Weapons also cannot be open-carried on school buses, at school-sponsored events or at colleges and universities.
It also remains illegal to possess a firearm as a convicted felon or while committing a crime, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said.
Open carry ruling not final
Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook noted that the court ruling is not yet final, but “there is no reason to expect that this court will reverse this decision.”
Until this issue is resolved, Cook told deputies not to enforce the ban. Her message reminded private property owners that they can still prohibit the open carrying of firearms on their own property.
Gov. Ron DeSantis applauded the appellate court decision, posting on X that this decision aligns state policy with his “long-held position.”
“Ultimately, the court correctly ruled that the text of the Second Amendment — ‘to keep and bear arms’ — says what it means and means what it says,” DeSantis wrote.
