Gov. Ron DeSantis Indicates Support for Open Carry Bill

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Ron DeSantis indicated on Friday he would back Republican support on passing open carry ahead of the regular legislative session in March.

"Would be great to see it hit my desk - Florida needs to join the overwhelming majority of states and protect this right," DeSantis said.

The governor responded to a question asked by Gun Owners of America Florida State Director Luis Valdes to Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey on whether or not he supported open carry in the state.

"I have from the very beginning I got elected. I've always supported it. I love to see it come up this year in the legislature," Ivey said. "We were blessed to get constitutional carry, permitless carry. But I've always been for open carry and always will be."

Ivey also speculated that "a majority" of Florida sheriffs like the idea, iterating support has grown from other sheriffs from five or six years ago.

Sheriff Ivey was first elected in Brevard in 2012 and has over three decades of law enforcement experience, including developing the country's first statewide Task Force on Identity Theft.

First Lady Casey DeSantis also shared her husband's sentiment on X.

"It's time for the Free State of Florida to join other states in enacting open carry! Sounds like a great priority for our GOP supermajority. This is the year," DeSantis said.

According to the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, Florida is one of four states that doesn't allow open carry. The others are California, Illinois and New York.

Florida's legislature holds a dominant Republican supermajority in the House and Senate. Therefore, any bill would face little trouble from Democrats and ultimately could be signed by the governor.

DeSantis signed permitless carry into law in April 2023. Under the law, Floridians can freely carry a firearm without a permit or obtain one.