Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued guidance to police and prosecutors on Monday, advising them that the state’s law prohibiting open carry is no longer enforceable.
Uthmeier’s memorandum to law enforcement comes after an appeals court ruled last week that Florida’s decadeslong ban on open carry violates the Constitution, citing as part of its basis a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding Second Amendment rights known as New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.
“Because no other appellate court has considered the constitutionality of Florida’s open carry ban since the SCOTUS decision in Bruen, the 1st DCA’s decision is binding on all Florida’s trial courts,” Uthmeier wrote in a post to X, highlighting the memorandum from his office. “Meaning that as of last week, open carry is the law of the state.”
Uthmeier released the guidance after some law enforcement officers in the state expressed confusion over whether the Wednesday decision from the 1st District Court of Appeal of Florida held authority over a previous decision from a higher court that upheld the open-carry ban as constitutional. While a slew of sheriff departments and police agencies across the state announced they would no longer enforce the open-carry ban last week, some were unsure about whether the 2017 ruling from the Florida Supreme Court held binding precedent over last week’s decision.
“As a matter of well-established law, a lower court, especially one in another district, cannot overrule the law established by the Florida Supreme Court,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtier said. “We must consider whether the Supreme Court’s prior decision is the law in Pinellas County.”
However, Uthmeier argued that the state Supreme Court’s 2017 decision had been invalidated because the appeals court cited the more recent 2022 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court as the basis for its move to toss the ban.
“Prudence counsels that prosecutors and law enforcement personnel should likewise refrain from arresting or prosecuting law-abiding citizens carrying a firearm in a manner that is visible to others,” Uthmeier wrote.
The latest court decision upholding the constitutionality of open carry takes effect on Sept. 25. The Florida Sheriffs Association has already advised all 67 county sheriffs not to arrest anyone for openly carrying a firearm.
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Open carry is still not an absolute right in Florida, as a number of stipulations remain in place on the matter, including restrictions against publicly exhibiting a firearm in polling places, schools, airports, courthouses, and prisons. Private property owners can still ban firearms as well.
“Just know that it’s a new day in Florida,” Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-FL) told Floridians during an appearance on NewsRadio 1620. “And you might see somebody carrying a gun, and you don’t need to be startled. But if you’re going to be carrying a gun, please just understand what the limits of the law are. And if somebody asks you to leave their store, that’s their right, too.”