Florida Representative Anthony Sabatini, Dist. 32, has introduced a new bill that would make open carry in public without a permit legal in 2022.
Unless open carrying a gun while fishing, range shooting, hunting, or camping, you cannot do so otherwise in Florida. You can even be charged with a crime for accidentally revealing your gun while carrying concealed.
John Dezendorf, who runs Fowler Firearms in Fort Myers, supports open carry but believes doing so creates concern.
“If you’re open carrying inside a store, and somebody wants to rob it, they might take advantage of you first because you’re carrying the firearm,” Dezendorf explained via NBC 2.
Open carrying does have advantages, mainly being quicker access as well as comfortability. Then there’s the argument of whether it is a deterrent or not.
Should open carry be legal? Yes. Still, most people are not used to seeing a civilian carrying a weapon openly. This is where carrying concealed offers less worry to others and makes one practically less of a target, per se.
These days, making yourself somewhat less of a target can work as a better deterrent when someone suspects they can prey on you and you turn things around.
Society in America being eased back into a sort of normalcy for open carry, like the Wild West for lack of better examples, will take quite some time. Until then, carrying concealed creates less of a target on yourself and can turn the tide when things turn upside down.
Have seen numerous open carriers in Virginia and nobody bats an eye. It just takes a little time.