I watched the NRA representative at the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee when they were debating this bill. She recounted how a concealed carry holder was waiting in a hospital emergency room for a fishing buddy who had been injured. His concealed gun was in his pocket, but the barrel had worn a hole in his pocket. As a result, about 1/4 inch of the barrel could be seen. A security guard in the emergency room informed the individual and suggested he take the gun to his car. The individual agreed. The security guard had previously called 911, so as the individual exited the emergency room, a swarm of police officers made a felony arrest, threw the poor fellow on the ground and cuffed him. The cuffs were applied so tight that it resulted in nerve damage to the guy’s hands.
In the end, the charges were dropped and he sued and won a civil suit against the officers and the department.
This is an example of why this new law is necessary. The police have no common sense when it comes to accidental firearm exposure.
When all is said and done, only a tiny minority of CCW permit holders will choose to carry openly, but it will protect those of us who conceal carry and accidentally expose our weapons.
Florida will be the 44th state to allow open carry in some form or other. It’s not a problem in the other 43 and won’t be a problem here.
I never said it would be a problem, I support open carry laws.
I want folks to be legally able to carry an AR-15 down the street on a sling.
I’m just not doing it.
Fixed it...