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Open carry in fla

Navyvetcva62

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Jan 24, 2018
Messages
1
Location
Port ST Lucie
I like to fish under a bridge in Jensen beach Fla it's run by Martin county parks dept I get there before sunrise there's always homeless people roaming around can I open carry while I fish thanks
 

color of law

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http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes...tute&URL=0700-0799/0790/Sections/0790.25.html

FLORIDA STATUTE 790.25(3) ALLOWS “OPEN CARRY” OF WEAPONS. Florida is a very pro gun rights and 2nd Amendment state. ... As strange as this may seem, the openly armed anglers are within the law. Open carry is permitted under Florida law when the person carrying is fishing, hunting, camping, attending a gunshow or shooting.
 

Grapeshot

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http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes...tute&URL=0700-0799/0790/Sections/0790.25.html

FLORIDA STATUTE 790.25(3) ALLOWS “OPEN CARRY” OF WEAPONS. Florida is a very pro gun rights and 2nd Amendment state. ... As strange as this may seem, the openly armed anglers are within the law. Open carry is permitted under Florida law when the person carrying is fishing, hunting, camping, attending a gunshow or shooting.

As well as to and from those events.

Be careful of the "attending a gun show" as a customer, you could end up swinging in the breeze.
 
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ADulay

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Oct 5, 2008
Messages
512
Location
Punta Gorda, Florida, USA
I like to fish under a bridge in Jensen beach Fla it's run by Martin county parks dept I get there before sunrise there's always homeless people roaming around can I open carry while I fish thanks

Yes. Perfectly legal in Florida under fs 790.25(3)h

I do this pretty much every day (fish or range work) with no problems at all.

Yes, I have been asked for identification a few times by local LEO but once that cursory inspection was done, everyone has gone on with their business, in my case, drowning a few baitfish.

The reason for the LEO stop is usually because someone else called in something about a guy with a sidearm who was fishing. I have NEVER been just approached by the LEO because they wanted to check.

AD
 

Va_Nemo

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Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
654
Location
Lynchburg
Posts above are accurate. But you may run into some gung ho cop who wants to be barney in the neighborhood and decides to push the issue. Might be safer and tug a shirt tail down a bit.

Nemo
 

OC4me

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2009
Messages
750
Location
Northwest Kent County, Michigan
As an extra precaution against any frivolous actions that may be taken by local anti-gun powers-that-be, I do believe that in Florida the general prohibition against open carry only applies to modern firearms and not antique firearms (i.e. black powder revolvers, etc.).

Do your research* first as I haven't lived in Florida in a decade and am no longer up-to-date on the laws down there.

Obviously this would be most useful if an anti-gun prosecutor decided to claim that you were not fishing or acting under any of the other exemptions.

*Careful as Florida's definition of antique firearm is different than the Federal definition. The key thing to remember is that in Florida they seem to only regulate the open carry of 'modern' firearms. I do think it may be possible for them to take issue with concealed carry of an antique as a deadly weapon (but that statute needs to be looked at).
 
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ADulay

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Oct 5, 2008
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Location
Punta Gorda, Florida, USA
I like to fish under a bridge in Jensen beach Fla it's run by Martin county parks dept I get there before sunrise there's always homeless people roaming around can I open carry while I fish thanks

Several previous posters have mentioned possibly running into an openly hostile LEO or one who may not be as familiar with the statutes as you will be.

I've run into both of them.

The openly hostile LEO was using every tactic he could think of to get me to "talk" with him about anything. Just hand over your ID and be done with it. It took me a good 10 minutes to get him to stop with the Dragnet impersonation and just go away. He was bound and determined to find something on me or my motorcycle that he could use to get my sidearm off the road. He finally just had to go away but made sure to tell me he "didn't like civilians carrying guns openly" and he'd be watching for me. He's since been fired for being, well, stupid.

The other LEO you may run into is one who may not be fully up to speed on Florida gun laws. This is also not a real problem. Once you mention the 790(25)e statute, he'll remember it from a memo they ALL got a few years ago.

In my case the officer was aware of the hunting, fishing, camping part but had not read down to the next paragraph where it covers shooting practice and ranges. He mentioned that I wasn't fishing, just leaving the range. I asked him if his computer was online. It was and we both walked back to his vehicle and looked it up! He read paragraph (j) and basically said "I didn't know that" and we shook hands and both went on our ways.

Know the statutes and be in compliance. If you're fishing or going to and from, be sure you can offer up a valid response.

To and from fishing? Have a photo on your phone from today of the spot! The range? Empty brass and a dirty sidearm seems to work for those who actually ask for proof. Only one has. The guy who eventually got fired and he was a jerk from the start.

I open carry on a motorcycle every day of the year and all around the state, depending on where I'm fishing or shooting that day. Being retired does have its advantages in things like this.

As an aside, I have NEVER been asked to disarm, merely asked for ID.

AD
 

phil1979

Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
91
Location
Atlanta, GA
CCC - Conspicuous Concealed Carry

Conspicuous Concealed Carry - or "advertisement concealed carry" is also perfectly legal ANYWHERE concealed carry is legal in Florida, and you don't have to be fishing, etc.

It can be something as simple as pulling a t-shirt over a large pistol in a OWB holster and printing like daylight, or having a pistol in a fanny pack, but your t-shirt has a pistol pic and the words, "Lawfully Carrying".

When I visit Florida I will be a little bolder. I will openly wear my lidded pistol-shaped holster containing nothing but a spare loaded magazine (to preserve state preemption). My pistol will be in my fanny pack, probably with a button pinned on it stating I am armed.

I may even wear a couple of spare magazines openly, which is completely legal.

Florida is one of only about five states that generally bans open carry. The Republicans in power can't get over their love of Janet Reno to bring back true liberty to the state. While other states are making progress, Florida is stymied at best and slipping behind at worst.

But at the least the Republicans there "support the Second Amendment". /sarcasm
 

color of law

Accomplished Advocate
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Oct 7, 2007
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5,936
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Posts above are accurate. But you may run into some gung ho cop who wants to be barney in the neighborhood and decides to push the issue. Might be safer and tug a shirt tail down a bit.

Nemo
Seriously, lets not exercise our rights or rights under the law because it upsets a law enforcement officer. Those kind of guys need to be rooted out and thrown off the force.
 

hammer6

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2008
Messages
1,461
Location
Florida
I asked him if his computer was online. It was and we both walked back to his vehicle and looked it up! He read paragraph (j) and basically said "I didn't know that" and we shook hands and both went on our ways.

unfortunate that the statute is just an exemption from a prohibition of your rights.
 

ADulay

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
512
Location
Punta Gorda, Florida, USA
unfortunate that the statute is just an exemption from a prohibition of your rights.

I work with what I have until something better comes along.

I try to project a good image for the open carry community and try to change what I don't like, which is a lot.

Many people talk. A very few actually act to get these things corrected. I put my position on the line every day for anyone to see.

I get my photo taken from cars with camera phones a few times a day when I'm out and about all day long.

Anything to show the scared public that an openly carried sidearm is not a threat.

AD
 

gutshot II

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2017
Messages
782
Location
Central Ky.
I work with what I have until something better comes along.

I try to project a good image for the open carry community and try to change what I don't like, which is a lot.

Many people talk. A very few actually act to get these things corrected. I put my position on the line every day for anyone to see.

I get my photo taken from cars with camera phones a few times a day when I'm out and about all day long.

Anything to show the scared public that an openly carried sidearm is not a threat.

AD

Too much common good sense and intellect in this post to survive the over zealous rhetoric and current viciousness of OCDO. +1 anyway.
 

Grapeshot

Legendary Warrior
Joined
May 21, 2006
Messages
35,317
Location
Valhalla
I work with what I have until something better comes along.

I try to project a good image for the open carry community and try to change what I don't like, which is a lot.

Many people talk. A very few actually act to get these things corrected. I put my position on the line every day for anyone to see.

I get my photo taken from cars with camera phones a few times a day when I'm out and about all day long.

Anything to show the scared public that an openly carried sidearm is not a threat.

AD

Too much common good sense and intellect in this post to survive the over zealous rhetoric and current viciousness of OCDO. +1 anyway.
Good words, actions, and posts are much appreciated and WILL be protected.

Laid up in the archives of the lodge so to speak.
...................................................................
icon14.png
 

echofiveniner

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2018
Messages
49
Location
Texas
One thing I have noticed is that in the last few years a lot of Law Enforcement has at least learned the law on open carry in Florida. Certainly its not every cop, but at least Open carry education seems to be occuring.
 

phil1979

Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
91
Location
Atlanta, GA
SB 1242 - Open Carry Bill

Senator Greg Steube's SB 1242 would name several more outdoor activities to allow unlicensed open carry.

If you want to help fight for your rights in Florida, please consider joining Florida Carry. I'm a Georgian, but I'm a paid member because I want to exercise my rights in Florida when I visit.

Also, for free you can join their FB group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/FLopencarry/.
 
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