Florida AG Addresses Open Carry Freakout

Florida is finally an open carry state. Their permitless carry, which previously only covered concealed firearms, now gives people the option to carry openly or concealed, and is now a true constitutional carry.

And, unsurprisingly, some people are freaking out about it. I’ve talked about some of that earlier this week.

However, the attorney general recently addressed some of the other “concerns.”

The primary worry among residents was not about guns themselves, but about untrained gun owners now legally allowed to openly carry in public. “What if someone doesn’t strap their gun down? What if someone else just grabs it?” were questions raised by many.

Uthmeier addressed these concerns directly.

“Well, one thing I tell people is, if you look around the country, a large super majority of states already have open carry,” said Uthmeier. “And we don’t see the world ending. We don’t see a lot of these very dangerous circumstances that are speculated here in Florida. I mean, it will be a transitional period again; additional guidance and possibly new cleanup in the Florida Statutes is necessary. But at the end of the day, I tell people, just because you have a right to do something doesn’t necessarily mean you should.”

“And there’s additional Florida law that says if you brandish a firearm in a way that is threatening, harassing, careless, or rude to other people, then that’s not lawful,” he said.

Honestly, the whole “what if someone else just grabs it?” thing is a common concern. In fact, I generally prefer not to open carry out of that same concern.

I’m also one to tell you that while that might be a personal concern, it’s also something that has never happened anywhere in the country so far as I’ve been able to find. It’s not an issue.

While I might make decisions based on this non-issue as if it were, though, that’s my prerogative as an American. I can decide the manner in which I carry that makes me feel the most comfortable. Others can weigh their own concerns and make their own decisions one way or another. Personal choice is the name of the game, just as no one should be forced to get a gun nor prohibited from getting one.

But to want a law over something that hasn’t happened, especially with so many states that allow it, is insane. 

That’s what so many people are freaking out about. They’re running through the whole “the streets will run red with blood” narrative once again, absolutely convinced that now that the guns will be outside of people’s shirts, suddenly everything will go sideways and everyone is going to die.

It’s not, as Uthmeier put it, the end of the world.

It’s the default gun rights position.

Hell, back in the day, concealed carry was considered sneaky and underhanded. Wearing a gun openly showed you had no ill intentions. When you consider that criminals carry concealed even in the most restrictive states, while open carriers aren’t shooting up liquor stores, one could make the case that the only change is good guys opting to stay low-profile, too.

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