On April 3, 2023, Governor DeSantis passed HB 543 into law. The most controversial aspect of the new law is that it will eliminate the requirement for an individual to obtain a concealed firearm permit before being able to carry a concealed firearm in Florida.
Until the Constitutional Carry Law becomes effective, Florida’s current concealed carry law applies. It is important to note that Florida is currently a “shall-issue” state. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services must issue a concealed carry license to an applicant who meets the eligibility requirements. The state currently allows eligible individuals to obtain a concealed firearm license. In order to obtain a concealed carry license in Florida, an individual must meet certain requirements, including: (1) being 21 years of age or older, (2) being a U.S. citizen or legal resident alien, (3) completing a firearms safety training course, (4) not having a felony conviction or a conviction for a crime involving violence or drugs, and (5) not having a history of mental illness or addiction to drugs or alcohol.[i] Once an individual has met these requirements, they can apply for a concealed carry license with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The license is valid for seven years and allows the individual to carry a concealed firearm in most public places, with some exceptions, such as schools and government buildings.
However, come July 1, 2023, when HB 543 becomes effective, Florida will shift from a “shall-issue” state to a Constitutional Carry State. Constitutional Carry, also known as Permit-less Carry or Unrestricted Carry, is a state law that allows individuals to carry a concealed firearm in public without requiring them to obtain a permit or license. Essentially, anyone legally allowed to own a firearm can carry it concealed in public without a permit or license.
Florida will join the following 25 states implementing Constitutional Carry laws: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia, and Wyoming.
In Florida, individuals will still have to comply with federal laws regulating firearms, such as restrictions on who can own firearms, where they can be carried, and how they can be used. However, they no longer must meet state-specific requirements to obtain a permit or license, such as undergoing firearms training, submitting to background checks, or paying fees. More specifically, if an individual does not have a concealed permit and they want to carry a firearm legally, they must satisfy the criteria laid out in the current version of Section 790.06(a)–(f) and (i)–(n), (3), and (10).[ii] It is also important to understand that even if no permit may be necessary to carry a concealed firearm in Florida, there may be certain locations or situations where carrying a firearm is still prohibited. For example, schools, government buildings, and some private properties may still prohibit firearms on their premises, regardless of whether the state has a Constitutional Carry law in place.[iii]
Studies opposed to the new law assert that the Constitutional Carry policy will incite or increase the state’s violent crime by up to thirty percent.[iv] This may be a combination of an increase in the theft of firearms and a decreased rate of police involvement in society, followed by the implementation of constitutional carry laws. Other studies show that the state could become safer and allow people to care for themselves without jumping through so many hoops. Ultimately, the evidence on permit-less carry laws is inconclusive, largely because of the limited research on the policies.[v]
We know that Florida has taken a step towards strengthening the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. As Governor DeSantis put it, “Constitutional Carry is [officially] in the books,”[vi] and only time will tell whether this experiment will succeed or fail.
[i] See Fla. Stat. § 790.06(2) (2022) (laying out the requirements needed for the state to issue a concealed carry permit).
[ii] See H.R. 543, 91st H., 125th Reg. Sess. (Fla. 2023) (“A person is authorized to carry a concealed weapon or concealed firearm, as that term is defined in s. 790.06(1), if he or she is not licensed under s. 790.06, but otherwise satisfies the criteria for receiving and maintaining such a license under s. 790.06(2)(a)–(f) and (i)–(n), (3), and (10).”).
[iii] See § 790.06(12)(a) (delineating that a license issued under this section does not authorize any person to openly carry a handgun or carry a concealed weapon or firearm in certain areas).
[iv] See Izzy Kapnick, Violent Crime Might Soar if DeSantis Arms Floridians With Constitutional Carry, Mia. New Times (July 5, 2022), https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/if-desantis-arms-floridians-with-constitutional-carry-violent-crime-may-soar-14818657 (“Examining crime rates in 47 major U.S. cities from 1979 through 2019, Donohue’s study found that right-to-carry laws led to increases in gun-related violent crime and gun-related robbery by as much as 30 percent.”).
[v] See Chip Brownlee, A Majority of U.S. States Now Have Permitless Carry, The Trace (Apr. 3, 2023), https://www.thetrace.org/2023/04/permitless-concealed-carry-gun-law-map/ (stating that there is not a sufficient amount of reliable data to determine if permit-less carry increases violent crime rates).
[vi] See New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, 142 S. Ct. 2111 (2022) (recognizing for the first time a right to carry a gun for self-defense in public).
