A little over a month since Florida Governor Ron DeSantis allegedly said that he supported the HB 103 Constitutional Carry measure filed in the Florida House of Representatives, Senate President Wilton Simpson (R) is said to have pledged his “support” for the bill and would urge Republican Senators to present a senate version of the House gun bill.
Senator Simpson, who is running to be the next Commissioner of Agriculture in Florida, is said to have made the pledge during a recent meeting with the Republican Liberty Caucus, where he said that he would “challenge senators to bring a constitutional carry bill."
Katherine Betta, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications for the Florida Senate, responded to The Floridian’s request for comment on whether Sen. Simpson did or did not make the comment supporting a Constitutional Carry bill in the state senate.
Betta acknowledge that Sen. Simpson did meet with the group and that he was an “unwavering” supporter of the Second Amendment, but did not say if Simpson expressed his support for the gun measure.
“President Simpson was happy to meet with the group. President Simpson is unwavering in his support for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Floridians, as evidenced by his A rating from the NRA, which he has earned over a decade of service in the Senate by sponsoring and supporting legislation that protects our constitutional right to keep and bear arms,” stated Betta.
While Constitutional Carry is widely popular and supported by many members of the Florida Legislature, the legislation may not make it out of committee.
During his State of the State address, Gov. DeSantis did not say that Constitutional Carry was or wasn’t one of his priorities during the 2022 legislative session.
