signing legislation making Florida a “constitutional carry” or permitless carry state was predictable.
This is pure bunk. Florida is the 26th state to adopt constitutional carry. More than 142 million Americans live with indistinguishable rules that have had no discernible impact on crime or violence. Moreover, Mr.pledged during his reelection campaign to support constitutional carry and was simply delivering on that promise.
Florida was a “may issue” jurisdiction until Marion Hammer, the first woman to head the NRA, began an effort to turn Florida into a “shall issue” state — a state in which a legal gun owner can obtain permission to carry a concealed weapon unless authorities can find a good reason to reject his or her application. Her effort succeeded in 1987, and Ms. Hammer led a successful NRA campaign to persuade other states to adopt similar laws.
The next stage was the passage of laws like that adopted this month in Florida, laws holding that a legal gun owner has a constitutional right to own a firearm and a right to carry it concealed. Again, this is now the law in 26 states, including Florida. The number of gun owners does not increase with a constitutional carry law, but the law reduces the red tape and delays that legal gun owners too often encounter in applying for a permit.