Gun Free Zones

An appeals-court decision this month striking down the state’s ban on openly carrying firearms has affected another law establishing places where guns are off-limits, according to law-enforcement officials and some gun-rights proponents.Attorney General James Uthmeier quickly embraced the Sept. 10 open-carry decision by a panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal as “the law of the state” and issued guidance for prosecutors, police and sheriffs warning them not to arrest or put on trial “law-abiding citizens carrying a firearm in a manner that is visible to others.”The decision overturned a 1987 law that made it a misdemeanor to visibly display guns. While people were barred for decades from openly carrying guns, they could get concealed-weapons licenses.

Loosening regulations on who can own guns - and where they can be carried - is a hot topic in the run-up to this spring's legislative session in...

Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, has filed a bill which would allow more guns in public places. The measure is part of a broader push by Republican...