TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a “constitutional carry” bill into law on Monday, making Florida the 26th State in the union to allow its residents to carry concealed firearms without a permit or any training.
“Constitutional Carry is in the books,” DeSantis said in a press release Monday, with the law slated to go into effect as of July 1, 2023.
With DeSantis’ signing of House Bill (HB) 543 on Monday, the majority of states in the country now have constitutional carry laws on the books. Previously, Georgia had become the 25th state with such a law after Governor Brian Kemp signed a similar bill in 2022.
Previously, the bill had passed in the Florida Senate on a vote of 27 to 13 last week, and from there the legislation was sent to the desk of DeSantis. The new law allows citizens who are eligible and are 21 years of age and older to purchase and carry a firearm without a permit, any instructional training, and without having to pay any fees.
However, Florida’s constitutional carry law does not change who is and is not eligible to carry a firearm, nor does it abolish firearm permits, which are still able to be obtained for those who wish to have one.
Republican state Rep. Chuck Brannan said that the constitutional carry law will protect Florida residents from crime as well as securing their Second Amendment rights.
“This bill is a big step, a big step to help the average law-abiding citizen, to keep them from having to go through the hoops of getting a permit from the government to carry their weapon,” he said.
However, Democrats and some members of law enforcement have decried the bill, arguing that it would give criminals easier access to weapons and that it could lead to an uptick in gun violence.
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