Court upholds state ban on openly carrying guns

The Florida Supreme Court ruled 4-2 that the state’s prohibition on the open carry of firearms does not violate the Second Amendment. The court said requiring concealed permit holders to carry their firearms hidden away does not infringe their right to self-defense. Story,

The Florida Supreme Court found the state’s ban on openly carrying handguns constitutional, raising the stakes for open carry laws under consideration in the Legislature this year.

In its 4-2 decision, the Florida Supreme Court agreed with an appeals court ruling that found Florida’s gun laws do not violate the constitution because a person’s right to self-defense is not infringed by restricting firearms to being hidden away.

The case began in 2012 when Fort Pierce resident Dale Lee Norman received his concealed carry license and, the same day, openly carried his firearm in a holster as he walked down the street.

That violates Florida law, which bans open carry with a handful of exceptions, such as coming to or going from a hunting expedition. Norman was charged with a second-degree misdemeanor and argued in court that his Second Amendment rights were violated.

“Because [Florida’s concealed carry law] regulates only one manner of bearing arms and does not impair the exercise of the fundamental right to bear arms, we approve the Fourth District’s well-reasoned decision,” wrote Justice Barbara Pariente.

The court’s two most conservative justices disagreed. “Florida’s generally applicable ban on the open carrying of firearms is unjustified on any ground that can withstand even intermediate scrutiny,” Justice Charles Canady wrote in his dissent.

The ruling is a blow to gun rights advocates who had hoped to legalize openly carrying firearms through the courts. That puts greater weight on gun rights bills that will be debated in the upcoming legislative session, which begins Tuesday.

State Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, has filed a bill that would allow concealed carry permit holders to carry their firearms in the open. There is not yet a similar bill in the House, but open carry legislation passed in the House last year before stalling in the Senate.