But yes, Open Carry is coming to Florida.
Now, already I’m seeing the pushback from people complaining that SB-234 still requires licensure and that we shouldn’t license a right. I agree, but what exactly should we do? Unlicensed Open Carry was a dead issue. It would not see the light of day, period. It appears there are people who seem to be under the impression that you can just type of a list of your demands, hand it to a senator, and he or she will sign it and it becomes law pretty quickly. Unfortunately, there are a thousand touch points. You have to make sure your bill is palatable enough for enough politicians to sign off of.
Incrementally, this works. The goal is legalize, normalize, then deregulate. Would it be awesome to have constitutional carry today? Yes! Is that what I’m pushing for? Yes, but I’ll take what parts I can get while I can.
So I can fight for and have a good shot at getting Licensed Open Carry or I can fight for Constitutional Carry, never get the bill submitted since nobody would touch it and get nothing.
For those who demand unlicensed OC, I understand your frustration. And I say this most sincerely that if you believe you can craft a bill that you can get sponsors for and will see the light of day plus has a chance of being passed, you should. If you know enough congresscritters that would go along with it, then you’d do everyone a favor by getting them to sponsor your bill. I’m finding out that it’s not quite that simple, and as sucky as it is, moving forward with most of what you want rather than all of it is still moving forward.
I’m open to suggestions as to how we can get Constitutional Carry passed, but I’m also hoping that people see the end game here and don’t give up simply because it’s not everything they want off the bat.
Hat Tip Sebastian
Incrementally, this works. The goal is legalize, normalize, then deregulate.