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Starting this summer, people will be allowed to carry a concealed gun without a permit in Florida. The change comes after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the new permitless carry law on Monday. Gun law advocates are now sounding off. “DeSantis just made Florida less safe,” said former Democratic U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. Former and current Democratic lawmakers stood in front of Orlando City Hall on Wednesday to speak out against the new permitless carry law and gun violence. “That is unacceptable,” said U.S. Congressman Maxwell Frost. “I just introduced my first bill into the House of Representatives about a week and a half ago to create a federal Office of Gun Violence Prevention, a very simple measure that I think will help save lives.”Former Democratic state lawmaker Carlos Guillermo Smith also opposed the new law.“It signals a reversal of the progress that we have made as a state on gun violence prevention since Pulse and since Parkland. And it is a rescinding of the promise that this state made to those families impacted by gun violence that we would make gun violence prevention a priority in this state,” he said. Guillermo Smith explained why he is against permitless carry. “It makes it easier for criminals who otherwise would not be eligible for a concealed weapons permit,” he said. “It makes it easier for them to carry, secretly, firearms in public with very little hassle from law enforcement.”But Terry Yonker, who stopped by Wednesday’s news conference, disagreed. “Criminals, by definition, don’t follow laws,” he said. Yonker said he thinks the permitless carry law will make Florida safer and is a step in the right direction. In fact, he wants to see open carry. “When you have people that are well armed, like in the Texas churches and just when you don’t know what citizen is armed and what isn’t, you’re going to think twice before doing a crime,” he said. “When you have a well-armed citizenry, it makes it harder to abuse your powers we’re seeing in Venezuela and around the world right now.”James Phillips is a lawyer at The Firearm Firm in Lake Mary. He is a fan of the new law. “I think it’s great,” he said. “If we look at the Second Amendment, it doesn’t say the right of the people to bear arms once you get a permit or you get permission from the government. We’re following more what the Constitution calls for the right to bear arms shall not be infringed.” Phillips said he disagrees with critics who say the new law will make Florida more dangerous. “I think it can work to deter crime because now criminals are going to have to be more concerned about even more people being armed and able to protect themselves. So I think we’ll see actually the opposite effect,” he said. Phillips said the new law will now allow people who do not have the time nor money to obtain a concealed weapons license to carry legally. But that quicker and easier access is what concerns critics. Opponents point out that the new law does not require people who are packing to take a safety course.“This new law, permitless carry, eliminates basic firearms training,” said Guillermo Smith. Phillips said he understood that concern. “But if we really look at how Florida’s concealed carry license has been over the past couple of years, there is no mandatory requirements of training. The only requirement for any training before getting a CWFL, which is Florida’s concealed carry, is that you fire one live round. There’s no set curriculum that says you have to have five hours in class, just one round,” he said. “So the training aspect before wasn’t overly great. So I don’t think we’re going to see a big difference now that people aren’t getting the so-called training.”Meanwhile, concealed carry permits will still be available. Phillips said people should still get them for proof when carrying in other states. Florida’s new permitless carry law takes effect on July 1.Top headlines:Florida lawyer weighs odds former President Donald Trump will serve prison timeArtemis II launch could draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to Florida’s Space CoastCentral Florida investigators say deaths of 3 teenagers all connected
Starting this summer, people will be allowed to carry a concealed gun without a permit in Florida. The change comes after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the new permitless carry law on Monday.
Gun law advocates are now sounding off.
“DeSantis just made Florida less safe,” said former Democratic U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
Former and current Democratic lawmakers stood in front of Orlando City Hall on Wednesday to speak out against the new permitless carry law and gun violence.
“That is unacceptable,” said U.S. Congressman Maxwell Frost. “I just introduced my first bill into the House of Representatives about a week and a half ago to create a federal Office of Gun Violence Prevention, a very simple measure that I think will help save lives.”
Former Democratic state lawmaker Carlos Guillermo Smith also opposed the new law.
“It signals a reversal of the progress that we have made as a state on gun violence prevention since Pulse and since Parkland. And it is a rescinding of the promise that this state made to those families impacted by gun violence that we would make gun violence prevention a priority in this state,” he said.
Guillermo Smith explained why he is against permitless carry.
“It makes it easier for criminals who otherwise would not be eligible for a concealed weapons permit,” he said. “It makes it easier for them to carry, secretly, firearms in public with very little hassle from law enforcement.”
But Terry Yonker, who stopped by Wednesday’s news conference, disagreed.
“Criminals, by definition, don’t follow laws,” he said.
Yonker said he thinks the permitless carry law will make Florida safer and is a step in the right direction. In fact, he wants to see open carry.
“When you have people that are well armed, like in the Texas churches and just when you don’t know what citizen is armed and what isn’t, you’re going to think twice before doing a crime,” he said. “When you have a well-armed citizenry, it makes it harder to abuse your powers [like] we’re seeing in Venezuela and around the world right now.”
James Phillips is a lawyer at The Firearm Firm in Lake Mary. He is a fan of the new law.
“I think it’s great,” he said. “If we look at the Second Amendment, it doesn’t say the right of the people to bear arms once you get a permit or you get permission from the government. We’re following more what the Constitution calls for the right to bear arms shall not be infringed.”
Phillips said he disagrees with critics who say the new law will make Florida more dangerous.
“I think it can work to deter crime because now criminals are going to have to be more concerned about even more people being armed and able to protect themselves. So I think we’ll see actually the opposite effect,” he said.
Phillips said the new law will now allow people who do not have the time nor money to obtain a concealed weapons license to carry legally.
But that quicker and easier access is what concerns critics. Opponents point out that the new law does not require people who are packing to take a safety course.
“This new law, permitless carry, eliminates basic firearms training,” said Guillermo Smith.
Phillips said he understood that concern.
“But if we really look at how Florida’s concealed carry license has been over the past couple of years, there is no mandatory requirements of training. The only requirement for any training before getting a CWFL, which is Florida’s concealed carry, is that you fire one live round. There’s no set curriculum that says you have to have five hours in class, just one round,” he said. “So the training aspect before wasn’t overly great. So I don’t think we’re going to see a big difference now that people aren’t getting the so-called training.”
Meanwhile, concealed carry permits will still be available. Phillips said people should still get them for proof when carrying in other states.
Florida’s new permitless carry law takes effect on July 1.
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