At long last, Florida looks set to become a “constitutional carry” state. Earlier this week, a bill to make concealed-carry permits optional for residents of the state was filed in the legislature, where it is expected to pass. Last year, Governor DeSantis promised that, if such a measure were to hit his desk, he would sign it. And that, all things being equal, will be that.
Despite the breathless tone in which such developments are invariably covered, there is no good reason for this proposal to worry anyone. If the measure succeeds, Florida will become the 26th U.S. state with permitless carry — joining a diverse group of forerunners that includes Arizona, Vermont, Alaska, West Virginia, Indiana, Wyoming, and Maine. And then? Well . . . not much, really. Contra the frantic insinuations of its opponents, permitless carry does not mean that those who are otherwise legally prohibited from owning a gun will now be able to do so; it does not abolish the federal background-check system, which applies irrespective of state law; it does not nix or alter any of the existing restrictions on the places in which carriers may take their firearms; and, as the RAND Corporation has noted, there is no evidence that it either decreases or increases crime. At root, permitless carry is a paperwork reform — a bureaucratic change that simply removes the requirement that qualified gun-owners must ask the government for permission before they may carry a concealed firearm in public. That’s it.
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