Sean Caranna founded the Florida Open Carry Movement immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment applied to state and local law on June 28th 2010.

Six months later, Florida Carry, Inc. was born of a necessity to expand the original mission of Florida Open Carry to include firearms preemption enforceability, campus carry, knife rights, and other issues facing law-abiding gun and defensive weapons carriers. He has dedicated himself to reforming Florida's gun, knife, and self-defense laws to protect the ownership and possession of defensive arms by law-abiding citizens.

 

In 2012, and again in 2015, Mr. Caranna was awarded the Second Amendment Foundation's "Defender of Liberty" Award

"My solemn oath, sworn before god, to protect and defend the Constitution had no expiration date." Says Mr. Caranna, "I am bound by my oath to do whatever I can to protect today's most widely abused individual right, the right to bear arms. My sworn duty to our cherished Bill of Rights demands it."

Mr. Caranna spent eight years in the U.S. Army as an Infantryman, including active duty service in Europe and Bosnia; he also served in the Florida Army National Guard.

 

Mr. Caranna has been accepted as an expert witness in Florida courts on issues relating to firearms laws and legislative history, small arms, and defensive tactics.

 

Sean is an active Certified Firearms Instructor and Range Safety Officer who formerly taught military small arms tactical and combat vehicle gunnery for a US defense contractor.

 

Since leaving the military he has worked primarily in computer imaging, simulation, and health care informatics fields.

 

Sean is also an avid private pilot, who enjoys the outdoors, and has been with his wife Cindy since 1999.

 

Mr. Caranna is a founder and Executive Director of Florida Carry, Inc.

 

Richard Nascak is a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, who originally hails from notoriously gun-unfriendly New Jersey. Rich has a unique perspective on freedom and individual rights as he was stationed in West Berlin, Germany from 1983 through 1990 and was present during the fall of the infamous Berlin wall. He personally witnessed the oppression of a citizenry by its government under color of law.

 

Rich has been on the forefront of the campaign to hold local governments to task with regards to the state preemption statute. He has also taken up the cause of open carry and can be seen as host of the Fort Myers area open carry/fishing events. Rich is an NRA Certified RSO and Firearms Instructor.

 

Rich has been married to his beautiful wife Jean for over 30 years, and they reside in Lehigh Acres.

 

Mr. Nascak is a founder and Executive Director of Florida Carry, Inc.

 

 

Jim Dykes is a retired U.S. Army officer with more than 21 years of service including deployments to Croatia, Bosnia, Kuwait, and Iraq. He also served as an enlisted military policeman and spent over two years in Virginia as a civilian law enforcement officer.

 

Since leaving the military, Jim serves as a Program Manager for a defense contractor in the areas of military simulation and training systems. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Old Dominion University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Wake Forest University.

 

Jim has had a concealed weapons license for the over 30 years (from the states of Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida) and is an avid supporter of Second Amendment rights. Jim is kept in line by his beautiful wife Shannon, and their son, Carter.

 

Mr. Dykes is Florida Carry's Secretary

 

  Terry Power is a small business owner and a resident of Oldsmar, Florida. He has been in the retirement plan industry since 1981 and oversees ERISA qualified plans across the country. Originally from Buffalo, New York, Terry has been a resident of North Pinellas County since 1985.

 

He is very active in local and state politics and has previously been a candidate for the Florida House of Representatives.

 

He is passionate about protecting your Second Amendment rights and moving Florida towards Constitutional Carry.

 

  Dennis Fields has been active in civil rights activism since 2013 when a friend was arrested for legally open carrying a rifle in Texas. He immediately sought groups in Florida with an open carry awareness mission. Jacksonville Open Carry was his first stop, and he was introduced to Florida Carry soon after.

 

Dennis has been a volunteer for Florida Carry for over a decade. He has attended and conducted many open carry fishing events, attended open carry camping events, spoken before the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, spoken on the steps of our Florida Capitol in Second Amendment rallies, set up membership drives at local liberty minded events, secured a meeting with the staff of Ron DeSantis, visited the offices of Florida Sheriffs, Florida Senators, and Florida Representatives, spoken before committees for both the Florida Senate and the Florida House of Representatives, and has travelled to support other Florida Carry members from one end of Florida (South Beach Miami) to the other (Panama City). 

 

With a background in law enforcement, Dennis understands both sides of the debate while steadfastly pushing for more liberty for We the People.  

 

---

  Scott David Barrish, BSW is an Executive Life Member of Florida Carry, Inc. and previously   served as the organization's Region 5 Lead, advancing the mission of restoring, defending, and   expanding the right to keep and bear arms throughout the State of Florida. A constitutional   advocate and paralegal focused on legal research and writing, Scott works to ensure that the   Second Amendment and Article I, Section 8 of the Florida Constitution are applied with their full   meaning.

 

  With a Bachelor's Degree is Social Work (BSW), Scott combines constitutional scholarship with   real-world experience assisting citizens in understanding their lawful self-defense rights. Through   education, public-records work, and support for litigation and legislative efforts, Scott provides   informed guidance on Second Amendment protections, lawful carry, due process, and self-defense rights. Scott is committed to practicing what he advocates, demonstrating daily that responsible carry and constitutional liberty are essential pillars of a free society. 

 

---

 Jed Carroll is a dedicated Second Amendment advocate and grassroots organizer whose tireless work has significantly strengthened firearm rights across Florida and the broader Southeast. He began his 2A advocacy with Florida Carry, where he first served as Region 2 Lead, organizing local activists, responding to rights violations, and helping the organization expand its statewide presence. Today, he serves on Florida Carry's Board of Directors, helping guide strategic litigation and advocacy to protect self-defense rights under the U.S. and Florida Constitutions.

          Carroll also serves as the Southeast Deputy Director of Gun Owners of America (GOA)- a no-compromise national organization committed to defending the full scope of the right to keep and bear arms. In this role, he mobilizes supporters, shapes policy, and challenges unconstitutional restrictions at both the state and federal levels across the region.

          His efforts have contributed to several major victories. In 2023, he played a key role in the passage of Florida's constitutional carry law (HB 543), which removed the concealed-carry permit requirement for law-abiding adults. Although the measure left the open carry ban in place, GOA - under Carroll's leadership in Florida and the Southeast - continues to challenge that prohibition. In 2025, his advocacy helped secure the repeal of restrictions on firearm and ammunition sales during local states of emergency, ensuring Floridians can defend themselves during crises such as hurricanes or civil unrest - reforms Carroll described as essential to preventing "unconstitutional prohibitions... at the very time when people need to be able to protect themselves."

          A consistent critic of bureaucratic delays, Carroll publicly opposed portions of Florida's 2025 farm bill (HB 651) that extended certain background-check timelines to 90 days, arguing that "any delay is an infringement." He pushed for improved information-sharing between state agencies to preserve timely access to concealed-carry permits and minimize unnecessary government bottlenecks.

          On the litigation front, Carroll is a strong supporter of GOA's high-profile federal challenge to Florida's open-carry ban (Florida Statute 790.053). Filed in 2024 and advanced with a motion for summary judgment in June 2025, the suit brought alongside Gun Owners Foundation and plaintiff Richard Hughes - invokes the Supreme Court's Bruen decision to argue that the ban lacks historical foundation and would have criminalized the armed colonists at Lexington and Concord. Following Florida Carry's major appellate victory in September 2025 declaring the ban unconstitutional statewide, Carroll had remained deeply involved in efforts to prevent backslide, warning - along with colleagues such as GOA Southeast Regional Director Luis Valdes - against the kinds of post-Bruen evasions attempted in other states.

          Through public testimony, media engagement, and direct outreach - often amplified through his X account (@GOASunshineState)- Carroll embodies the unyielding spirit of Florida's and the Southeast's gun-rights movement. He consistently reminds lawmakers and citizens that the Second Amendment requires action, not excuses. His leadership continues to reinforce protections for the estimated eight million gun owners in the Sunshine State and countless more across the region, ensuring their fundamental right to bear arms remains strong against evolving threats.