Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday he expects to approve changing Florida gun laws to allow what is known as “constitutional carry,” though it is not clear when that could happen.
DeSantis didn’t say whether he would add the issue to a special legislative session that will start May 23 on property insurance. But he said he intends to eventually sign such gun legislation.
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“The one thing that I wanted the Legislature to do, and I think we will do it, I can’t tell you exactly when, but I’m pretty confident that I will be able to sign constitutional carry into law in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said while at an infrastructure-funding event in Williston.
“There are [going to] be people who own guns who are not properly trained, they’re just [going to] respond emotionally and not with the knowledge of the laws, I definitely see some things happening,” said Chris Louissaint, owner of FTAC Security Solutions and Training. “What is going to be the substitution to ensure that these firearms owners are still responsible and educated?
Under current law, people who want to carry guns must get concealed weapons permits from the state. Constitutional carry would allow people to carry guns without the permits.
News 6 reached out to multiple law enforcement agencies in the state about the issue; Orange County Sheriff’s Office responded with the statement:
“Sheriff Mina has been clear that he strongly opposes any attempts to make Florida an open-carry state.”
Alabama and Georgia, both also under Republican governors, enacted forms of constitutional-carry laws in the past two months.
“The Legislature will get it done. I can’t tell you if it will be next week, six months, but I can tell you that before I am done as governor we will have a signature on that bill,” DeSantis, who is running for re-election this year, added.
As of March 31, Florida had just under 2.5 million concealed-weapons permits issued, according to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which administers the program.