(ConservativeSense.com) – Florida is now among the ranks of Constitutional Carry states after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday eliminating the requirement to obtain a permit to conceal carry a firearm. The passing of this bill means the majority of states in the U.S. are now Constitutional Carry states.
Randy Kozuch, NRA-ILA Interim Executive Director, praised the legislation, applauding Florida “for becoming the 26th state to adopt the vital Constitutional Carry legislation,” an initiative he said was “spearheaded” by the NRA. The bill “empowers Floridians to exercise their Second Amendment rights,” Kozuch said, “without undue bureaucratic barriers.”
The bill passed the Florida Senate last week with a vote of 27 to 13, sending it to DeSantis’ desk to be signed by him on Monday. Before DeSantis signed the bill, there were already 25 states with Constitutional Carry laws on the books allowing citizens to conceal carry firearms without a permit, with Georgia becoming the 25th after Gov. Brian Kemp signed a similar bill into law nearly a year ago. Florida is the 26th, which now means states that allow permitless conceal carry are the majority.
The law officially goes into effect on July 1, 2023. Individuals 21 years old and up are now allowed to carry a firearm without seeking government permission to do so and without having to pay a fee, although the new law doesn’t alter the conditions of who is eligible to obtain a permit to carry.
Although the NRA and Republicans are celebrating the passing of this legislation, Democrats and gun-control activists argue that making access to conceal carry will only lead to more violence.
The signing comes only a week after a shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, at a Christian private school by a trans-identifying woman shocked the nation, leaving three 9-year-old children and three adults dead.
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