“I’ll Sign It”: Will DeSantis and Florida Advance Constitutional Carry?

In most states, a citizen who wants to carry a weapon must have a permit to do so. Rules about what’s required to get the permit vary state to state–some require only a background check and small tax, some require hours of training, others are more involved and force you to deal with the police–while not a major hassle in most states, it is a delay that makes it harder to carry a gun if you think you need one suddenly.

Further, it just doesn’t seem congruent with the 2nd Amendment, which provides that “the right to keep and bear arms…shall not be infringed.” Is having to pay a tax, deal with some bureaucrat, and sometimes deal with the police an “infringement” of that right? Many think so.

And that’s where Constitutional Carry comes in. It’s the idea, an idea strongly supported in a number of free states, that all law-abiding citizens have the right to carry weapons if they please and don’t need a permit to do so. This isn’t Britain, where you need your fork permit or some such nonsense; this is America, and you can carry a gun if you see fit.

But, Constitutional Carry is, for now, only the law of some states. While it’s become more popular in recent years, particularly as resentment about government interference in the lives of citizens heats up, it hasn’t been made the law of the land by the Supreme Court yet.

Fortunately for those that value freedom, one more state could soon move away from a permit system and toward the much more constitutionally congruent “Constitutional Carry” way of handling citizens carrying firearms.

Which state is that? Well, Florida, of course! DeSantis is coming in hot and supporting Constitutional Carry in Florida, as Bearing Arms reports:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave his strongest statement of support for Constitutional Carry on Thursday, responding to a question from a reporter about the fate of permitless carry by declaring that if legislators “put it on my desk” he’s willing to sign the bill.

Unfortunately, DeSantis’ comment might have been too little too late. While the opponents of the bill have taken a very active approach in opposing it, DeSantis has seemed more ore less lackadaisical in how he has handled it. He’ll sign it, but isn’t making getting it passed a priority.

However, there is some good news: a few other states might prove more successful in getting Constitutional Carry passed this year. Again according to Bearing Arms:

I take the governor at his word that he would indeed sign Constitutional Carry if it gets to desk, but he just doesn’t seem that interested in pushing it across the finish line. If that were the case, DeSantis would have been much more direct much earlier in the session rather than taking the hands-off approach that we’ve seen to date.

As things stand right now, I feel very good about Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio becoming Constitutional Carry states this year, and I think there’s a really good chance that Indiana lawmakers get it done as well. Unless something dramatic happens in the next couple of days, however, I’m afraid that Florida’s permitless carry bill is gonna run out gas before it ever gets to DeSantis’ desk.