TAMPA, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis was recorded Thursday telling a member of a gun rights group that he supports allowing Floridians to openly carry guns in public — a measure that has been publicly opposed by some law enforcement officials and that would go further than any bill now filed for the upcoming legislative session.
Luis Valdes, Florida director of Gun Owners of America, said he asked DeSantis at a book tour stop in Jacksonville Beach whether he would support open carry and if he would have it added to current bills.
“Yeah, absolutely,” DeSantis is heard to say during a 10-second interaction recorded by Valdes and shared with the Times. “I don’t think they’re going to do it, but I would absolutely.”
