The Ledger

I frequently write about what Florida does wrong.But today Im writing about what Florida has done right. And remarkably, its on the topic of guns.

Dont get me wrong: Florida is gun-crazy in many ways.

We hand out concealed-weapons permits like Tic Tacs, leading the nation. And weve pioneered the homicide-inducing stand your ground gun law which was written by a lawmaker who is also a funeral home owner. (Conflict of interest?)

But were not all-the-way crazy.

Florida has refused to join the rush of other states to sanction the open carrying of firearms.

Open carry laws are why you see scowling young men cosplaying as military commandos in political protests in other states, standing often with AR-15s slung over their chests among crowds of protesters.

When former President Ronald Reagan was governor of California, he signed the Mulford Act, a law that specifically outlawed open carry, after members of the Black Panther Party began patrolling the streets of Oakland while brandishing loaded weapons.

The Heller case, a 2008 landmarkU.S. Supreme Court gun-rights decision, stopped short of a blanket, unfettered Second Amendment right to open-carry firearms.

"Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the majority opinion. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.

Florida, despite its reputation as the Gunshine State, has remained one of only four states that prohibits open carry by law. And state lawmakers have resisted efforts by gun-rights groups to change that.

A bill to allow open carry in Florida passed the Florida House in 2016but died in a Senate committee. And a year later, the Florida Supreme Court upheld the state law banning open carry in a case brought by a St. Lucie County gun owner.

In Florida, open carrying of weapons is sanctioned when youre fishing, hunting or camping.

Soevery once in a while, open-carry advocates make a display of this exception by standing on a congestedIntracoastal bridge, pretending to be fishing with their AR-15s hanging from their shoulders.

Floridas ban on open carry looks wise now, considering how the open display of firearms has become a form of visual intimidation used at political protests during this hotly contested election.

The gathering of Arizona protesters supporting President Donald Trump outside the elections office in Phoenix included men legallydisplaying their military-style assault weapons.

And the interrupted plot to kidnap and kill Michigans Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for a swarming of 200 armed militia members at the state Capitola place where open carry is permitted and the sight of civilian commandos armed to the teeth was not unusual.

After the arrests of militia members in the plot to kill the governor, Michigan tried to ban the open carry of firearms inpolling places on Election Day. But the state courts ruled that the guns would have to be allowed in the polling places.

So, take heart, Floridians. Were not that crazy.

We may have no shortage of aggrieved hotheads and Trump dead-enders riding around in their flag-flying Vanilla ISIS pickup trucks.

But the AR-15s these self-deputized patriots crave to display will have to be imaginary.

Frank Cerabino is a columnist for the Palm Beach Post. Email him at fcerabino@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter@FranklyFlorida.

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Even in gun-lovin' Florida where you can fish with an AR-15 we have our limits - The Ledger