Florida Statute 790.053 States that 'open carry' is unlawful. This is from the 790. statutes I received when I renewed my CW license in 2008. To my knowledge this is unchanged since then. I googled the statute in question and this was the result. Florida Statute 790.053 790.053 Open carrying of weapons.— (1) Except as otherwise provided by law and in subsection (2), it is unlawful for any person to openly carry on or about his or her person any firearm or electric weapon or device. (2) A person may openly carry, for purposes of lawful self-defense: (a) A self-defense chemical spray. (b) A nonlethal stun gun or dart-firing stun gun or other nonlethal electric weapon or device that is designed solely for defensive purposes. (3) Any person violating this section commits a misdemeanor of the second degree.
And now for the details..... The appropriate link that you're looking for when dealing with weapons in Florida is: http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2011/790.25 which covers open and concealed carry statutes, among other things. To the original poster's question about Florida open carry, take a look at fs 790.25(3)(h) and you'll have your answers. To summarize it: You can open carry while fishing, hunting, camping or travel to and from these activities. If you'll look at paragraph (j) it also covers shooting ranges with that one. I'm one of those people who just happens to be lucky enough to have the time and energy to pursue fishing and shooting every day. Yes, I openly carry my G30 and do it on a motorcycle every day of the year and have done so for at least the last full year. I have been stopped three times. All three times I have been sent on my way still open carrying after some informative conversations with both parties! Most people will NOT try this as they fear any interaction with their local LEO's. I respect the law and those who are sworn to protect it. I respect it, I do not fear it. There is a difference. The bottom line? If you're headed out fishing or to the range for the day, you can open carry and it says so right in the Florida statutes. I know as I do it every day. It also helps to be very comfortable with openly carrying your weapon. AD (open carry advocate and practitioner)
So if i'm going to the range i can leave my house OC? What if i stop along te way at a gas station or something, would it still cover me?
I read it to mean walking from your vehicle to the fishing spot and back. I guess it will subject to the arresting officers interpretation of the statute. Here is a cut and paste from the actual statute: A person engaged in fishing, camping, or lawful hunting or going to or returning from a fishing, camping, or lawful hunting expedition; http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes...ing=&URL=0700-0799/0790/Sections/0790.25.html Here is a youtube video on the subject: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBWghJrVeYA[/ame]
Guys who go looking for trouble usually wind up with it. I'd love to go into details but this particular person has caused a lot of problems for the Florida open carry movement. Suffice to say that if you cruise around looking for problems, you'll find them. It would be nice if we could all get on the same page with the open carry movement. I've been stopped several times and NEVER had this much of a problem. Do not use this video as a primer on how to open carry and fish in Florida. AD (my own personal opinion)
I could not agree enough! If this knucklehead would have just gone about his business, it probably would have been a non-issue. Would it make an interesting video? Probably not. The beat down he deserves sure would be. I'm not sure if I find his attitude more offensive or the smoking of Tiparillos. Hey tough guy, smoke a real cigar!
