The City of Key West’s City Attorney Kendal Harden has issued a memo clarifying a recent court decision regarding the open carrying of firearms.
On September 10th, the First District Court of Appeal in McDaniels v. State struck down Florida Statute § 790.053(1), which had prohibited open carry of firearms. The Court held the ban unconstitutional under the Second Amendment in light of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions requiring firearm restrictions to be consistent with “historical tradition.” The McDaniels decision is binding throughout the State of Florida.
On September 15th, Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a statewide memorandum directing that:
Law enforcement and prosecutors should no longer arrest or prosecute law-abiding citizens solely for carrying a firearm openly.
The State will no longer defend convictions or prosecutions under the invalidated statute.
The AG emphasized that existing restrictions still apply. For example, felons cannot possess firearms and threatening or reckless display of firearms is unlawful.
Florida law and federal law continue to prohibit carrying firearms, open or concealed, in the following locations:
Schools (K–12), school administration buildings.
Courthouses / courtrooms.
Polling places during elections.
Meetings of government bodies (county, municipal, school boards, etc.).
Detention facilities, jails, prisons.
Law enforcement facilities (police, sheriff, highway patrol stations).
Airport passenger terminals / sterile areas.
Establishments licensed for alcohol consumption, in areas primarily devoted to serving alcohol.
Any place prohibited by federal law (e.g., federal buildings).
Private property where the owner expressly forbids firearms. A refusal to leave after such an order can be charged as armed trespassing.