JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Big changes with Florida’s gun laws are coming July 1 when a new law will allow eligible people to carry guns without a concealed weapons permit.
Until now, gun owners would apply for a license, take a class and get a background check to be able to carry a concealed firearm in the state.
But on July 1, Floridians who are eligible to own a gun will be allowed to carry a concealed weapon without needing a license.
The change is part of a larger bill (HB 543) championed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled state Legislature.
But if you look at the language of the law, it’s complicated. So News4JAX took your questions to a police supervisor at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
“They no longer have to apply for that,” JSO Chief of Patrol Jaime Eason said. “However, they still have to follow the requirements if you work to get that concealed weapons license.”
Eason said the agency has been preparing for the change in law for quite some time, educating officers who will now educate the public.
READ: Everytown for Gun Safety’s response to Florida’s new gun law
Eason said despite some people’s concerns of Florida became the “Wild West,” he’s not worried about more people solving their problems with guns because of the change in the law.
“People that were not law-abiding citizens never got a concealed weapons license to begin with,” Eason said. “So they already had a gun. That hasn’t changed, but law-abiding citizens, they just now can exercise their Second Amendment right, and they don’t have to get a license and law-abiding citizens tend not to do things like that.”
Under the new law, convicted felons and those with injunctions against them still can’t own or carry firearms.
And the law does not make Florida an open carry state, so Floridians must keep their weapons concealed, and there’s a list of places where they still cannot carry guns, like schools, government buildings, airports, and bars.
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Those without a permit will also have a three-day waiting period when buying a handgun.
Also, if you choose to carry without a permit, as part of the law, you must have a valid ID on you and show it to police if they ask. Although, you’re not required, if pulled over, to tell police that you have a firearm on you. They do, however, recommend that you alert an officer if you have a weapon.
Eason wanted to make it clear, guns must be concealed and only pulled in true self-defense emergencies.
“This law also prohibits that you cannot use it in an aggressive manner. And you still have to follow the laws of Florida,” Eason said. “You can use it for self-defense, but obviously, you can’t use it in an aggressive manner and display it unlawfully, so having an argument at a gas station, you will go to jail for that still.”
While firearms training is not required to carry without a permit, Eason said continued safety classes are always a good idea.