Issues
Since 1987 it has been illegal for local Florida governments to regulate firearms and ammunition. The preemption statute was passed then so that Florida gun owners would no longer face a patchwork of local laws that was impossible to keep up with. It was also passed to protect Floridians from local lawmakers who do not respect the citizens’ right to bear arms. The Florida Legislature never imagined that local leaders would thumb their noses at Tallahassee and intentionally break the law despite clear statute and appellate court decisions. But they have for the past 24 years and the patchwork continued.
In 2010, Florida Carry, Inc. Co-Executive Director Richard Nascak and a cadre of volunteers organized on web forums and banded together in an grassroots effort to fix the problems at the local level. They contacted local governments and were shocked at the reactions they got. Local leaders were quite happy to make criminals of lawful gun owners because there was no penalty for politicians and bureaucrats breaking the state preemption law.
“So, sue us!” was the general and sometimes literal response. Lee County resident and attorney Patrick Buckley did just that. He filed a lawsuit against his county’s park carry ban, knowing there was no provision to even recover his costs and fees should he win.
Richard Nascak engaged State Rep. Paige Kreegel for help and the NRA got involved to draft legislation that would put teeth in the long-abused statute.
Volusia County traded arguments for months with Florida Carry, Inc. Co-Executive Director Sean Caranna over its woodland and airport carry bans but finally backed down and repealed the preempted ordinances in March 2011 once it became clear that the Firearms Preemption Enforceability bill was on track to pass.
During the 2011 session, the legislature made it clear that they had had enough. On October 1st 2011, new penalties and a vehicle for recovery of attorney’s fees and costs goes in to effect. With days left to act, Florida counties, cities, and agencies are on notice. Florida Carry will hold local leaders accountable and finally clear up the patchwork of unlawful restrictions on the right to bear arms in Florida.
The businesses listed below have Anti-Gun policies and many work actively to subvert your personal safety and civil rights.
The companies on this page have verified policies, anti-gun signs, and/or engage in lobbying activities against legislation that Florida Carry supports.
Some of these businesses even hide their actions by lobbying behind the scenes while publicly stating that they "follow state law" with regard to self-defense.
AMC Theaters
Gulf Coast Town Center - Ft. Myers
Gulf Coast Town Center in Fort Myers (Estero), FL is owned and operated by the Richard E. Jacobs Group and CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. The carry of weapons is prohibited on their property, despite the fact that firearms are sold daily at one of their major tenants.
Toys "R" Us
Ever try to buy a toy gun at Toys "R" Us? With the exception of Nerf-type guns, you won't find any. Such is their anti-gun fervor, even the toy police equipment packages have a plastic tactical knife instead of a plastic pistol. It didn't used to be this way, however. Up until recently, Toys "R" Us had a policy like that of many other retailers - one could carry their firearm in whatever manner was legal in that jurisdiction. But an incident occured at 11:30 am on November 29, 2008, Black Friday, in Palm Desert California which prompted the corporation to take a decidedly anti-gun tack. On that day, two women began brawling. As they swung at each other, the two men accompanying them began arguing. The younger man lifted his shirt, and drew a handgun. The other man immediately followed suit. They ran down the aisles firing at each other as other shoppers scattered. When it was over, both lie dead with their handguns nearby. Police later identified them as Alejandro Moreno, 39, of Desert Hot Springs and Juan Meza, 28, of Cathedral City. Meza sported a tattoo that read "VMV", an abbreviation for the gang known as Varrio Mecca Vineyards, and had a criminal record dating back to 2002. He had twice pled guilty to the charge of a felon in possession of a firearm, once in November of 2007 and again the following March. Alejandro Moreno was no angel either. Moreno's criminal record went as far back as 1998, when he pled guilty to corporal injury of a spouse. Additional charges of assault with a deadly weapon, criminal assault, and willfully harming a child were dropped as part of a plea bargain. In short, neither of these two men were legally in possession of a firearm. In response to the incident, Toys "R" Us instituted their "no firearms" policy, completely ignorant of the fact that neither of these criminals would have been dissuaded in the slightest had the policy been in effect on that fateful Black Friday. As a result, law-abiding firearms carriers are no longer permitted to protect themselves from gang-bangers and felons who most assuredly still prowl the aisles at your local Toys "R" Us.
CAC Florida Medical Centers
5/3 Bank
2001 E. Adamo Dr.
Tampa, FL 33605-5245
Ikea
Jared Jewelers
Disney
Actively lobbied against carry initiatives in the legislature in multiple years.
Regal Entertainment Group
We respect the right of these businesses to limit access to their property and engage in the political process. However, we feel that they have a duty to protect their law-abiding customers and are liable for crimes of violence that occur in their stores and parking lots where they disarm law abiding gun owners.
All product and service names mentioned or logos displayed are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this document serves informational and educational purposes.
Send pictures of anti-gun signs from your mobile device with details on the location, business name or government entity, and any other details you have to:
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Make sure you turn on location geotagging for automatic placement on the Gunbusters map.
We will reach out to the business about their gun policy in an effort to have them respect your safety. They will be included on our Anti-Gun Businesses list until they change their signs and policies.
In the case of public facilities and lands, our lawyers are standing by.
We ask the ultimate from our Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen, and Marines. We put them into the battlefields of the world and ask that they put their lives on the line to defend our country and our way of life. When we do so, we provide them with the equipment they need to protect themselves and the weapons required to fight back. It would be unconscionable that we demand them to be disarmed in the battlefield, but sadly Florida’s Concealed Licensing system may require that they disarm themselves when they return home.
Florida statute §790.06(2)(a) states
Is a resident of the United States and a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident alien of the United States, as determined by the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, or is a consular security official of a foreign government that maintains diplomatic relations and treaties of commerce, friendship, and navigation with the United States and is certified as such by the foreign government and by the appropriate embassy in this country;
Here in Florida, members of the military who are stationed abroad may find themselves ineligible for concealed weapons permits as documenting residency can get tricky. Also the Division of Licensing would reject fingerprints taken by military police as they are not a civil law enforcement agency. Finally, I know that I served with many non-US citizens. In fact, there were at least 4 members of my platoon at Parris Island who were foreigners looking to become citizens who signed up with the Marine Corps. Currently, they are not eligible for permits according to the statutes.
Another travesty is that we will put an 18 year old into the theater of combat, but will not trust them with a handgun when they come home.
I joined the Marines when I was 18. By the time I was 19, I was stationed in Camp Pendleton, California where I was an aviation electrician working on AH-1W Super Cobra and UH-1N Helicopters. I was straight out of A-School when I transferred to Pendleton, and upon my arrival my classroom training was delayed due to flood damage to the school facilities. Instead, I was placed directly into a squadron and began learning on the job. The first thing I ever worked on on a Cobra helicopter were the weapons (fire control) systems.
Think about that. At 19 years of age, I sat in the cockpit of attack helicopters with the know-how to launch Hellfire & TOW missiles and to fire the 20MM cannons. I had enough knowledge to even start the aircraft up (although no ability to actually fly it). The military trusted me with a multimillion dollar aircraft, fully armed, at 19. The argument that people under 21 are too immature to handle weapons is patently false as is illustrated by the fine men and women who leave high school and join our armed forces.
Florida has no problem sending young adults to fight wars, but plenty of issues with them being able to defend themselves when home on leave. It is unfathomable how we can say that a soldier is competent enough to handle fully automatic weaponry, real assault rifles, and all the weapons of war but is somehow untrustworthy with a pistol carried in their waistband when they come home to visit friends and family.
Florida Carry is proud to announce HB 499 which was submitted Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011
Concealed Weapons or Firearms: Provides that otherwise qualified members & veterans of U.S. Armed Forces be issued concealed weapon or firearm license regardless of age or U.S. residency in certain circumstances; provides additional methods for taking of fingerprints from such license applicants.
HB 499 would correct the oversight that makes it difficult for our service members to obtain their concealed permit. Modeled after Texas law which permits their service men and women to apply for concealed handgun permits, these bills will honor our Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen, and Marines by showing them our trust as they defend their own lives here in the Sunshine state like they defend ours overseas.
Florida Open Carry Movement
Florida Open Carry is a grass roots movement made up of people who seek to protect and expand their individual right to keep and bear arms and are willing to exercise that right.
Open Carry refers to the act of carrying a firearm in plain sight.In Florida, you can legally open carry a loaded firearm while engaged in, or going to and from, Fishing, Hunting, and Camping. With some planning and preparation, a law abiding person can open carry a firearm in public and stay in compliance with the law.
Responsible, law abiding friends associated with Florida Open Carry hold meetings throughout Florida in an effort to raise awareness in the community. Our goal is to help educate others about their right to legally open carry and advocate for expanded open carry as allowed in the vast majority of other states.
Florida Carry, Inc. was formed of a need to expand the original mission of the Florida open carry movement to include related self defense and other pro-RKBA civil rights issues. If you would like to help expand your right to carry openly in Florida, come out for some of our great fishing and camping events to promote OC!
Join us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter.
Sign the Florida Open Carry Petition
Subcategories
Membership Article Count: 0
Concealed Carry and Open Carry Article Count: 5
Campus Carry Issues Article Count: 2
Firearms Preemption Article Count: 2
Anti-Gun Businesses Article Count: 2
Knife Rights Article Count: 2
Violations of the Right to Bear Arms Article Count: 0
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