TAMPA, Fla. — Legislation that would allow Floridians to carry concealed weapons without a permit or training is ready to be taken up by the full House and Senate — without a change to allow people to openly carry guns in public.
While Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis was recorded by a pro-gun group last week saying he was in support of permitless open carry, legislative leaders have stayed firm that the measure will only apply to the concealed carry of guns. DeSantis has said he won’t veto the bill just because it may not include “everything I want.”
As the bill moved Thursday through its final committee in Florida’s Senate, members of the gun safety group Moms Demand Action crowded into the meeting room while others gathered to kick off their “advocacy day” at a Tallahassee church. Volunteers also laid out a field of white roses in front of Florida’s old Capitol building, representing Floridians who died from guns the previous year.
