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Gun Owners of America (GOA), Inc., Gun Owners Foundation, and Richard Hughes have taken a bold step to protect the Second Amendment.
They filed a lawsuit against St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, State Attorney Thomas Bakkedahl, and the State Attorney’s Office for the 19th Judicial Circuit of Florida.
The plaintiffs argue that Florida Statute § 790.053(1), which restricts the open carrying of firearms, violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. They want the court to declare this law unconstitutional and prevent its enforcement.
Gun Owners of America and their co-plaintiffs (correctly) believe this statute infringes on the fundamental right to bear arms. They claim it unfairly targets law-abiding gun owners, limiting their ability to openly carry firearms for self-defense.
SEE ALSO: DeSantis Signs Constitutional Carry Law in Florida
“Florida lawmakers claim to be pro-gun, but year after year, they’ve refused to repeal the 1987 ban on open carry, leaving Floridians in the very anti-gun company of New York, Illinois, and California where this is also prohibited,” said GOA Senior VP Erich Pratt.
“GOA has been left with no choice but to sue the state, especially since GOA’s open carry bill was blocked by the Republican legislative leadership during the 2024 session’s first week,” he continued.
“This ban has no historical basis and will surely be found unconstitutional under the Bruen precedent. We look forward to making our case and fighting for law-abiding Floridians,” Pratt concluded.
Sheriff Pearson and State Attorney Bakkedahl, named in their official capacities, are the primary defendants. The plaintiffs argue these officials are responsible for enforcing the unconstitutional law.
This lawsuit represents a significant effort to defend 2A rights in the GunShine state. It’s worth noting that while Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has voiced support for open carry, his endorsement hasn’t been enough to move the needle in Tallahassee.
Maybe this lawsuit is just what the doctor ordered to spur the state Legislature into action. Time will tell…
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Huh? Pratt says it’s like New York, Illinois and California? WTF? Not even close…. Florida has constitutional carry right? Well conceal it and shut up. Open carry is STUPID. Only time you should ever maybe do that is in a wilderness setting, when you may not want to dig through 5 layers of cold weather gear when confronted by dangerous animals… other than that you’re just going to get your gun taken or shot in the back of the head first in some robbery or whatever. I see these open carry jackasses in Michigan pretty regularly…1st they ALWAYS look like weirdos, some idiot you wonder should even have a gun. 2nd they NEVER have a retention holster. I could walk up behind these bone heads and take their guns everytime. 3. You’ve given away your element of surprise against the bad guy, you’ll be lucky if your not the first corpse at then scene. 4. Florida as mentioned before has constitutional carry…GOA stop wasting my dues money on a few knit wits in Florida who aren’t bright enough to take advantage of free concealed carry and spend that money in some more repressed state like the 3 mentioned in the beginning of my tirade. Oh yeah and why up here is it ALWAYS 1911’s, Taurus PT92’s and old P series rugers I see being open carried?? It’s plain weird that’s what I always see here. Those 3 guns I think goes a long way to explain the mentality of the people open carrying them…get with the program open carry people…get a modern smaller gun and conceal it!!! You make us all look crazy. Yeah I’m talking to you gigantic fat guy open carrying a 1911 cocked and locked in a small leather holster with no snap or nothin and 3 spare mags on the other side of your 7 foot waist line the other day in Onsted MI grocery. You’ll stop all that wheezing you were doing at roughly 40 years old when you lose 350 lbs as well. A complete embarrassment to our gun culture…but YOU’RE what the dumbass Anti’s see…not the rest of us normal people who they have no idea are packing a 17 rd compact sig. Ok….thats it . I feel better now I got that off my chest. Good day đŸ™‚
I really don’t think that this puts my state of Florida in the “anti-gun company of New York, Illinois, and California”. Florida issues concealed firearms licenses and also you actually don’t even need a license to carry concealed! I personally don’t think open carry is necessary or desirable. I do have a concealed firearm license in Florida and I have had for over 30 years and I carry every day.
I remember the time in Fla. When open carry was in effect. Everyone freaked out. The gangs were rolling with semi auto rifles and the Disney patrons had the vapors. I think it would all settle down once enacted but the legislature will never willingly gore the sacred ox of tourism.