The Florida House of Representatives passed two bills Wednesday evening that would allow registered gun owners to openly carry firearms, including on university campuses.
House Bill 163 would allow people to carry guns on state college campuses. It passed the Judiciary committee Wednesday by a vote of 80-38. House Bill 4001 would allow for open carry throughout Florida. It passed the Judiciary committee Wednesday by a vote of 80-37.
However, Lee-Ford Tritt, a professor at the UF Levin College of Law, said people opposed to the bill have nothing to worry about.
Last year, Florida’s House passed the same campus-carry bill, he said. It went through the Senate process and died on second reading.
For either bill to become a law, they will both need to pass through three committees in the Senate before going to the governor for his signature.
Daniel Smith, a political science professor at UF, said representatives pushed the bill to the Senate because they know it won’t go further.
“They can get the kudos of the NRA (National Rifle Association) without the fallout of concerned citizens,” he said.
Jill Guidera, 31, is the president of UF law’s American Constitution Society for Law and Policy chapter.
She said the bills are unsettling.
“Schools are supposed to be protected from this,” she said.
Gabriel Mondry, a 20-year-old Jewish studies junior, said 45 other states passed open carry.
The only reason the bills haven’t passed, he said, is because the Senate refuses to hear them.
“People are already carrying guns on campus illegally,” he said. “I don’t think anything will change. It will happen anyway.”
Contact Molly Donovan at mdonovan@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @Mollyidonovan.
