In a video posted by Florida Gun Rights, a flabbergasted Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) can be seen mocking state GOP lawmakers by asking, “Are we Florida or are we San Francisco?”
DeSantis was railing against the lawmakers’ inaction on open carry legislation.
We could not agree more with @GovRonDeSantis. It is an embarrassment that Florida cannot pass simple pro Second Amendment legislation like Open Carry. It is entirely unacceptable, and every Republican in the legislature should be ashamed of themselves. As the Governor said, "Are… pic.twitter.com/Tlom9Ozfvo
— Florida Gun Rights (@FLGunRights) April 1, 2025
On February 1, 2025, Breitbart News reported that DeSantis called on lawmakers to pass legislation legalizing the open carry of handguns.
Florida was the 26th state to adopt constitutional carry; however, unlike many other constitutional carry states —the total of which is now 29 — Florida’s law only applies to concealed carry. There is no Florida law allowing the open carry of handguns.
On August 5, 2024, Breitbart News noted that Gun Owners of America (GOA) filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, hammering Florida’s continued lack of an open carry provision.
GOA’s complaint said, in part, “This blatant infringement of the Second Amendment right to ‘bear arms’ runs counter to this nation’s historical tradition and would have criminalized the very colonists who openly carried their muskets and mustered on the greens at Lexington and Concord to fight for their independence.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly:
