Updated April 4, 2023
Florida State enacted a law which allows responsible citizens to carry concealed weapons without licenses.
The new law only allows concealed carry -- popularly called "permitless" -- and not open carry which is often called "Constitutional Carry".
Interestingly, only people who can now carry concealed without a permit are those who comply with the new legislation's licensing conditions, such as not having been convicted of a felony or a crime involving controlled substances within the previous three years.
So, not just anyone can carry permitless. Although, we know criminals already carry permitless. Indeed, many criminals are already "prohibited possessors", yet they carry concealed. Now Florida citizens have the ability to avoid the legal entanglement of becoming criminals for simply protecting themselves from crime.
Florida has become the 26th state to enact this type of legislation. Other states with permitless concealed carry laws are:
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana (for residents with military service)
Maine
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
New Hampshire
North Dakota (for residents only)
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
West Virginia
Wyoming
Governor DeSantis signaled his willingness to sign the bill by indicating his position when the bill was in the legislature:
"A constitutional right should not require a permission slip from the government," he said during an address to the state Legislature earlier this month. "It is time we joined 25 other states to enact constitutional carry in the state of Florida."
Now our good neighbors in this state can protect themselves and the community without getting jammed up for the lack of a permit.