Florida Justices Refuse To Target Open Carry Ban

WFSU | By Jim Ash

Published March 2, 2017 at 2:49 PM EST

Armed customers line up at a Houston fast-food restaurant. Florida justices refused to strike down an open-carry ban, saying it does not infringe the Second Amendment.

A strongly divided Florida Supreme Court upheld Florida’s ban on openly carrying firearms.

By a 4-2 vote, the majority found the law regulates only the MANNER of bearing arms and not the fundamental right to bear arms.

But in his dissenting opinion, Justice Charles Canady said the law’s defenders were making a feeble argument that it makes society safer.

He was joined by another reliable conservative, Justice Ricky Polston.

The case involved a St. Lucie County man who was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor after witnesses saw him openly carrying a handgun in a holster.

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Jim Ash

Jim Ash is a reporter at WFSU-FM. A Miami native, he is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, most of it in print. He has been a member of the Florida Capital Press Corps since 1992.

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