Alan McFadden, 54, of Seminole, looks at guns and shops for ammunition in the gun shop at Bill Jackson's Shop For Adventure in 2015. (LARA CERRI | Times)
Ron DeSantis told a gun rights advocacy group that people should not need a permit to openly carry a firearm in public, according to the group's lawyer and a release sent out by the organization this week.
Eric Friday, the general counsel for Florida Carry, said he met with DeSantis in Kissimmee while the Congressman was there for the Republican "Sunshine Summit" in June, which featured a debate [1]between DeSantis and his rival in the governor's race, Adam Putnam, as well as prominent speeches from prominent Republicans like Ben Carson.
DeSantis' position was originally touted in a roundup earlier this week of various lawmakers' stances on gun issues based on conversations they had with the group.
Florida currently requires a permit (and thus, background checks) for anyone wishing to carry a handgun, and it must be concealed. Thirty-one states have adopted permissive "open carry" laws that allow people to carry guns without a permit if they are in plain sight. This is also sometimes called "constitutional carry," because its supporters believe the Second Amendment bypasses the need for a license.
"What Congressman DeSantis said is he doesn’t understand why you need a license to exercise a fundamental right in the first place," Friday said in an interview with the Times/Herald. "He did not make a commitment to support open carry or unlicensed carry. He didn’t say he would he would push for it in the Legislature (if elected governor)."
"We were very pleased with his answers and very pleased to hear him express support," Friday added.
In the original release, Florida Carry also said
