Permitless Concealed Gun Law Signed By Gov. DeSantis

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed into law legislation that allows Florida gun owners to carry concealed loaded weapons without a license. HB 543 goes into effect on July 1, and will make Florida the 26th state to enact such legislation.

“Constitutional Carry is in the books,” DeSantis said at the close bill-signing.

The law allows Florida gun owners to carry a concealed weapon without getting a permit, which requires completing a gun safety course, providing fingerprints, undergoing an additional background check, and paying a permit fee, according to an NBC News report.

Florida law currently allows residents to buy and own a gun without a permit, but owners must have a concealed weapons permit to carry the gun in public.

Democrats argued that easier access to guns in Florida — which has seen mass shootings at the 2016 Pulse nightclub in Orlando and in 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland — will make the state more dangerous. Nearly 3 million Floridians have a concealed weapons permit, WFLA reported.

On her Twitter page, Senate Democratic Caucus Leader Lauren Book criticized the law.

"Gun violence is the #1 killer of children and teens in the US. It has outpaced car crashes, cancer, and everything else. This is a FACT," Book tweeted. "So WHY is FL working to flood our communities with MORE guns while simultaneously gutting training & other EXISTING safety provisions???

"FL requires 1200 hrs of training for a license to cut hair, 500 hrs of training for a massage therapist license, 240 hrs of training for licensed manicurists," Book added. "But now, you’ll be allowed to carry a gun in public even if you've never held or shot one. 0 training, 0 permitting."

Despite attempts by Republican lawmakers, the bill does not allow gun owners to openly carry their firearms in public, according to a report by The Tampa Bay Times.

DeSantis has said he thinks Florida should go further and allow people to openly carry guns, WFLA said.

Last year, DeSantis signaled his support for the bill and expected state lawmakers to pass the permitless carry law during the 2023 legislative session.

"Basically, this was something that I've always supported," DeSantis said during a 2022 news conference in Lee County. "The last two years, it was not necessarily a priority for the legislative leadership. But we've been talking about it, and (House Speaker Paul Renner's) pledged publicly that's moving forward, and it'll be something that will be done in the regular session."

About half of U.S. states allow people to carry a gun without a permit, a movement that's grown popular among conservative states, according to The Associated Press.

Thursday's vote comes three days after a shooter opened fire at a Nashville school, killing six people, including three nine-year-old children.