Your Action is Needed Now: Stop permitless and open carry in Florida!
The Florida House of Representatives will likely hear House Bill 543 TOMORROW (March 23) which would bring permitless carry to Florida.
Permitless carry harms public safety by removing vital safety measures designed to ensure that those carrying handguns in public have been properly trained and vetted.
The removal of concealed carry permitting systems is associated with higher rates of gun homicide and violent crime. States where permitless carry is legal experienced a 22% increase in gun homicides for the three years after the law’s passage, more than doubling the 10% increase for the country overall. Florida already ranks as the 24th worst state in terms of gun deaths in the U.S., with one gun death every 3 hours. If these pieces of legislation are passed, Floridians will not be safer.
The lives of all Floridians, from business owners to law enforcement, will be put at risk by eliminating the permitting process to carry a concealed handgun in public. Background checks and training are common sense measures that support public health and safety while also upholding our right to bear arms.
Eliminating the permit to carry a concealed weapon would allow anyone to carry a gun in public, even people who have been shown to have a history of violence or who might otherwise not pass a background check.
Even more damning, Representative Mike Beltran (R-Riverview) has filed an open carry amendment to HB543 ahead of the bill's Floor hearing. Open carry is extremely dangerous. It would allow gun owners to carry firearms in full view of others in public places. And if HB 543 passes as is now, many of those gun owners would be doing so without a background check.
Click here to learn more on this issue from the Florida Phoenix.
The League has long recognized that the right to vote is meaningless without the right to vote safely. The unchecked and open carrying of concealed firearms imperils the electoral process at multiple stages, from the threat of violence at registration to voter intimidation at the polls.
We're urging Florida League members to contact their Representative and encourage them to vote NO on HB 543 & the pending open carry amendment.
Email or call your state Representative and ask they reject House Bill 543 & any open carry amendment right away! Click here to use a tool to find your State Representative's contact information.
Consider contacting all of Florida's state representatives about your opposition to this legislation. Click here for a list of all House members contact information. If you are a constituent of one of these listed legislators please indicate that in your communication.
