FLORIDA, USA — Florida Rep. Joel Rudman filed a bill Monday that aims to allow guns to be carried openly in the Sunshine State and repeal the state's red flag law.
Rudman said in a Facebook post that filing the bill "reiterates my commitment to freedom and to the Constitution."
Rudman's first bill filed for the state's 2025 legislative session, HB 31, looks to prohibit carrying a concealed handgun or unconcealed firearm without a license or valid identification, according to the bill's summary.
"My bill repeals Florida’s unconstitutional red flag laws and makes Florida an open carry state," the post states. "'Shall not be infringed' will mean something here in the Gunshine state!"
Although a ways away, here are other things the bill would enact if passed:
- Repeal provisions relating to arrests without a warrant and exemption from licensing requirements for law enforcement officers
- Allow open carrying of any otherwise legal firearm, electric weapon or device
- Revise a list of places into which a person may not carry a handgun, concealed weapon or concealed firearm
- Delete provisions relating to open carry, collection of fees for licenses to carry concealed weapons or concealed firearms, allowing school districts to restrict possession of firearms in vehicles, exceptions to statutory protections of the right to keep and bear arms in motor vehicles
- Revise the definition of “bump-fire stock”
- Repeal provisions for risk protection orders
Florida's "red flag" legislation was passed in the wake of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in Parkland, in which 14 students and three staff members were killed.
The law, legally known as "Risk Protection Orders," allows law enforcement officials to restrict firearm and ammunition possession from a person who poses a danger to himself or herself or others.
Repealing the law could not only rescind those mentioned above, but could also change the age a person has to be when purchasing a rifle or shotgun in the state, as well as potentially get rid of a program that allows teachers to be armed in schools. More of what is enacted under the state's red flag law can be read here.
Proponents of the bill hope next year will be the year open carry is signed into law. Luis Valdes is the Florida Director of Gun Owners of America. He has been working with lawmakers to try to get similar bills passed.
"Open carry would simply restore the rights of Floridians to be able to carry a firearm without the fear of being arrested if they have an accidental exposure," Valdes explained.
Valdes said one of the biggest challenges to getting the bills passed in the legislature is the potential impacts on the state's tourism industry.
"Other states rely on tourism: Texas, Hawaii, Tennessee, Arizona, for example, they all have open carry. It's not an issue there. So, why would it be an issue here?" Valdes said.
Those against open carry call this bill dangerous. State Representative Angie Nixon believes open carry will lead to more people getting hurt and disproportionately impact people of color.
"Me and my husband, we are gun owners, but we use common sense and I just want everyone else to do the same," Nixon told First Coast News. "What is not common sense is walking around with a gun openly. That is a recipe for disaster."
Read more about Rudman's bill here.
