On September 10, 2025, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal issued a unanimous decision declaring the state’s ban on the open carry of firearms in public unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. The ruling means that Florida’s prohibition on open carry can no longer be enforced. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeir has stated he will not appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. According to Jennifer Titus, a reporter for 10 Tampa Bay, “Florida’s Attorney General says he doesn’t plan to have the case heard again.” Governor Ron DeSantis commented that the court’s decision “aligns state policy with my long-held position and with the vast majority of states throughout the union.”
With this ruling, only five states—California, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York—now generally ban open carry. The ban in California is currently being challenged in the Ninth Circuit court. In some rural parts of California, open carry with a permit is allowed.
The general ban on open carry in Florida was enacted in 1987 as part of legislative changes that also introduced a shall-issue concealed carry permit system. Janet Reno played a key role in lobbying for this law at that time. Since then, several attempts have been made in Florida’s legislature to repeal the open carry ban; none succeeded until this recent court ruling.
Currently, six states require permits for openly carrying handguns: Hawaii, Minnesota, South Carolina, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
Open carry was common at the time of the ratification of the Second Amendment in 1791. Constitutional Carry laws—which allow people to legally carry firearms either openly or concealed without permits—are now active in 29 states. Florida recently expanded its laws from permitless concealed carry to include permitless open carry.
The North Carolina legislature is scheduled to vote on September 22 regarding an override of their governor’s veto related to gun rights legislation.
Here in Ohio: Buckeye Firearms Association blasts Sylvania Prosecutor’s Office for illegal prosecution of gun owner.
According to supporters like Buckeye Firearms Association, such legal developments are significant steps toward defending and advancing gun rights across the country.
