TAMPA, Fla. – Florida now joins most of the nation on openly carrying firearms, after the First District Court of Appeals ruled the ban on open carry in the state unconstitutional on Wednesday.

What we know:

This week provided a big win for gun rights supporters with the appeals court’s decision.

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“What this court has said is the history and traditions of our country is purely a Second Amendment argument,” said Anthony Rickman, a Tampa defense attorney. “It’s unlawful in the state of Florida to ban people from carrying their firearm openly.”

Rickman said the decision throws out a whole category of crimes, and now the state is dealing with what comes next.

“Really there’s a split within the circuits or the counties of our state on how this law is going to be enforced,” said Rickman.

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What they’re saying:

In the Tampa Bay area, sheriff’s offices in Citrus, Pasco and Hillsborough counties said their deputies will not enforce the open carry ban effective immediately. But, sheriff’s offices in Hernando, Pinellas, Polk and Manatee counties said they are waiting until September 25. 

There’s a 15-day period for the ruling to go into effect.

“I think as it stands at the moment, it is still technically illegal. Is there a good chance that that decision will stand, and it will be honored statewide? Yeah, there’s definitely a good change to that. But talking with our local state attorney’s office, nothing is really decided prior to the 25th of this month,” said Sheriff Al Nienhuis of the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. “That’s the type of things that people need to do whether this law changes or not, I recommend training is very important and think about what is the best for you tactically.”

Nienhuis said there are still limitations, and gun owners should be aware.

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“If you’re going to carry a firearm, and you’re proficient in a firearm, we have a class here in Hernando Clinic. We call it SAFE, it’s Situational Awareness Firearms Education. It’s a full day class. We talk about the legal ramifications of carrying a firearm, being mentally prepared to get involved in a deadly force confrontation,” said Nienhuis.

And, he cautioned anyone who plans to openly carry.

“I’ve said it many times in that SAFE class that if you’re open carry, it is a lot easier to have your gun taken away and weapons retention is a critical thing,” said Nienhuis.

What’s next:

Rickman said the appeals court interprets open carry as a possible deterrent to crime, and the decision has bigger impacts in the courtroom.

“It affects how stand your ground cases are being handled. It’s going to affect how self-defense cases are looked at,” said Rickman.

The Florida attorney general said his office fully supports open carry, while Democratic lawmakers criticized the decision. The court’s opinion comes from a challenge to the ban after a man was convicted of openly carrying on July 4, 2022, in Pensacola.