This article is meant to take a look at Florida’s open carry laws so that you folks can get a better idea what is and is not legal in the state.
Unless covered under the exceptions that are listed below, it is still unlawful to openly carry a firearm in the state of Florida or to carry concealed on or about the person without a license.
Exceptions:
- Persons having firearms at their home or place of business.
- Enrolled members of clubs organized for target, skeet, or trap shooting, while at, or going to or from shooting practice.
- Members of clubs organized for collecting antique or modern firearms while at or going to or from exhibitions.
- Persons engaged in fishing, camping or hunting and while going to or from such activity.
- Persons engaged in target shooting under safe conditions and in a safe place or while going to or from such place.
- Persons who are firing weapons for target practice in a safe and secure indoor range.
- Persons traveling by private conveyance if the weapon is securely encased, or in a public conveyance if the weapon is securely encased and not in the person’s manual possession.
- Persons carrying a pistol unloaded and in a secure wrapper from place of purchase to their home or to a place of repair and back.
- Persons engaged in the business of manufacturing, repairing or dealing in firearms.
- Military, law enforcement personnel and private guards while so employed.
Penalties for carrying concealed without a license and openly in the state are pretty severe. They can include a fine of up to $5,000, up to five years in prison, or both.
On top of that, there are many places that will not allow even concealed carry. We will be going over these in future articles, as we look more in-depth about things such as who is not allowed to possess a gun, and what public places do or do not allow them. Due to the complexity of some of these situations for the state, we thought it best to give them their own articles. For right now, however, we have a wonderful FAQ page on our Florida site with a lot of helpful information.
If you have specific questions that you would like covered in future articles about Florida’s open carry laws, shoot us a comment below, and we will make sure to add them to future reports.
Information compounded from the NRA and Florida state legal texts.