Real World Impact: Florida’s First District Court of Appeals recently held that Florida’s ban on openly carrying firearms is unconstitutional. Florida’s Attorney General has issued guidance stating that the decision currently applies statewide. It does not, however, impact the right of private employers to prohibit employees possessing or displaying weapons in the workplace. Additionally, private employers still may not ban any employee from possessing a legally owned firearm, when the firearm is lawfully possessed and locked inside a private motor vehicle in a parking lot, provided that the employee is lawfully present in the area. However, a number of questions remain, especially for public employers, many of which will need to be resolved through further court decisions and/or legislative action.
Background: The right of persons in Florida to bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Section 8(a) of the Florida Constitution. In addition, as of July 1, 2023, Florida allows those age 21 and over to carry concealed firearms without a permit, making it one of many states to adopt such laws. However, Section 790.053, Florida Statutes (“open carry ban”) made it unlawful for any person to openly carry a firearm in public.
Court Decision Striking Florida’s Open Carry Ban: On September 10, 2025, in McDaniels v. State, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal struck down Florida’s open carry ban. The court held that law-abiding adult citizens have a right to carry firearms openly in public under the Second Amendment. Significantly, the court’s ruling does not define what it means to be in public, and the court noted that its ruling does not mean that open carry is absolute or immune from reasonable regulation. According to McDaniels what the state may not do is extinguish the right altogether for ordinary, law-abiding, adult citizens.
More specifically in McDaniels the court only found Section 790.053 unconstitutional, but it did not disturb the remainder of Chapter 790, including the concealed carry provisions in Section 790.06(12)(a) (“Concealed Carry Statute”).
The Concealed Carry Statute lists the following locations where carrying a firearm openly or concealed remains prohibited:
- Any place of nuisance as defined in s. 823.05;
- Any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station;
- Any detention facility, prison, or jail;
- Any courthouse;
- Any courtroom, except that nothing in this section precludes a judge from carrying a concealed weapon or concealed firearm or determining who will carry a concealed weapon or concealed firearm in his or her courtroom;
- Any polling place;
- Any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special district;
- Any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof;
- Any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms;
- Any elementary or secondary school facility or administration building;
- Any career center;
- Any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion of the establishment is primarily devoted to such purpose;
- Any college or university facility unless the licensee is a registered student, employee, or faculty member of such college or university and the weapon is a stun gun or nonlethal electric weapon or device designed solely for defensive purposes and the weapon does not fire a dart or projectile;
- The inside of the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport, provided that no person shall be prohibited from carrying any legal firearm into the terminal, which firearm is encased for shipment for purposes of checking such firearm as baggage to be lawfully transported on any aircraft; or
- Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law.
Attorney General Guidance: After McDaniels, the Attorney General of Florida issued guidance on the court’s ruling. First, the Attorney General stated that because no other appellate court has considered the constitutionality of Section 790.053, the First District’s decision is binding on all Florida trial courts. Therefore, until another DCA or the Florida Supreme Court rules otherwise, or the Florida Legislature takes action, this decision applies statewide and is the law of Florida.
The Attorney General noted that the McDaniels decision does not prevent law enforcement from policing those who “'exhibit [firearms] in a rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner’ in public. § 790.10, Fla. Stat.” Additionally, the decision does not allow people to menace others with firearms in public, and it does not limit the state’s authority to prohibit felons from possessing firearms.
The Attorney General’s guidance also states that private property owners can maintain the long-standing legal prerogative to compel individuals carrying firearms to leave their premises. Any person carrying a firearm who violates the private property owner’s warning to depart will be committing armed trespass, a third-degree felony. See § 810.08(2)(c), Fla. Stat.
Furthermore, it is important to note that Fla. Stat. § 790.251 also remains in effect and prohibits employers from banning any employee from possessing a legally owned firearm, when the firearm is lawfully possessed and locked inside a private motor vehicle in a parking lot, provided that the employee is lawfully present in the area.