Victory for the Second Amendment: Florida’s Open-Carry Ban Struck Down as Unconstitutional
In a resounding affirmation of American freedoms, a Florida appeals court has delivered a knockout blow to the state’s long-standing ban on open carry of firearms. On September 10, 2025, right before the 9/11 attack to America, the First District Court of Appeal ruled that Florida Statute Section 790.053 violates the Second Amendment, declaring it unconstitutional and striking it down. This decision isn’t just a win for gun owners—it’s a direct rebuke to decades of government overreach that has stifled the fundamental right to bear arms in public for self-defense.
The case, stemming from the conviction of Stanley Victor McDaniels—a Pensacola resident arrested on the Fourth of July in 2022 for openly carrying a handgun—highlights the absurdity of Florida’s outdated law. McDaniels, an ordinary law-abiding citizen exercising what should be a protected right, was slapped with a misdemeanor charge simply for not concealing his firearm. The court’s 20-page opinion, penned by Judge Stephanie Ray and joined by Judges Lori Rowe and M. Kemmerly Thomas, cuts through the nonsense with precision, invoking the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2022 decision in *New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen*.
“Because the Second Amendment’s plain text encompasses the open carrying of firearms in public, that conduct is presumptively protected by the Constitution,” the judges wrote. “The State therefore bears the heavy burden of establishing a relevant historical tradition of firearms regulation that justifies its prohibition.” Florida failed miserably. The state couldn’t muster a shred of historical evidence to support its blanket ban, which dates back to 1987 emergency legislation pushed by then-Dade County prosecutor Janet Reno amid fears it would scare off tourists. History, as the court emphasized, shows open carry as the norm at the Founding—citizens openly bore arms for self-defense without apology. Concealed carry, in fact, was often viewed with suspicion as sneaky or criminal behavior.
The ruling dismantles the state’s feeble attempt to draw a line between open and concealed carry. “It is difficult for the state to distinguish between open and concealed carry without disregarding both the Court’s originalist framework and our Nation’s historical tradition,” the opinion states. Florida’s 2015 Supreme Court upholding of the ban? Obsolete, the judges declared, overruled by *Bruen*’s demand for history and tradition over modern “interest-balancing” tests favored by gun-grabbers. “The Constitution protects the right to carry arms openly for self-defense. Florida’s Open Carry Ban cannot be reconciled with that guarantee,” they concluded, reversing McDaniels’ conviction and vacating his sentence.
This isn’t some fringe victory—it’s a conservative triumph rooted in originalism. For too long, Florida has lagged behind 45 other states that allow some form of open carry, treating its citizens like suspects who must hide their means of protection. Even as the state embraced constitutional carry for concealed weapons in 2023, the open-carry prohibition remained a glaring hypocrisy, criminalizing visible self-defense while permitting hidden arms. Gun rights groups like Gun Owners of America (GOA) have been battling this relic in federal courts since 2024, filing for summary judgment in June 2025 and arguing it flatly violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. Today’s decision validates their fight: no historical precedent justifies stripping Floridians of this core liberty.
Governor Ron DeSantis, a staunch Second Amendment defender, has repeatedly called for repeal, pushing lawmakers as recently as February 2025 to join the “overwhelming majority of states” in protecting open carry. Despite resistance from some in the GOP-led Legislature—like Senate President Ben Albritton, who echoed law enforcement concerns—the court’s hammer has done what politics couldn’t. DeSantis hailed the ruling on X, stating, “Florida needs to join the overwhelming majority of states and protect this right.” Now, with the ban struck down, Floridians can openly carry without fear of prosecution, bolstering public safety in a state plagued by rising crime and border-related threats.
Of course, the gun-control crowd will wail about “public safety,” but facts don’t lie. Open carry has thrived in states like Texas and Arizona without descending into chaos—crime rates there reflect armed citizens deterring threats, not escalating them. Florida’s ban, born of 1980s hysteria, did nothing to stop violence; it only disarmed the law-abiding. As GOA’s Sam Paredes put it earlier this year, “Florida’s open carry ban is an outdated and unconstitutional relic. The right to bear arms means exactly that—to carry arms, not just to keep them locked away.”
The state has 30 days to appeal, potentially landing this before the U.S. Supreme Court under Attorney General James Uthmeier. But why bother? The *Bruen* framework is clear, and Florida’s case is weaker than ever. Conservatives should celebrate this as a step toward restoring the full scope of the Second Amendment—not just in Florida, but nationwide. The right to bear arms isn’t negotiable; it’s enshrined in our founding document. Today’s ruling proves that when courts stick to the Constitution, freedom wins. Let the open carriers stand tall—Florida’s finally catching up.