The Wrong Fight: Why Open Carry Weakens Gun Rights

The Wrong Fight: Why Open Carry Weakens Gun Rights

By Brian Wilson, a sensible 2nd Amendment advocate

Florida’s summer heat hides nothing. Shirts cling. Sweat rolls. Now, holstered pistols may soon ride that same horizon. A recent court ruling cracked open the door, and open carry could become a familiar sight. Supporters call it liberty in action. I call it a misstep, one that weakens, not strengthens, the very right it celebrates.

I’ve stood for the Second Amendment my entire life. I believe in ownership paired with training, in self-defense balanced by judgment. Yet open carry unsettles me. It’s not the firearm itself that stirs unease, but what happens when visibility outruns restraint.

The New Florida Landscape

Until recently, Florida Statute § 790.053 banned open carry. A narrow law, rigid but clear. A pistol could flash by accident, briefly, but not rest in full view. That rule held firm for decades, upheld again in Norman v. State (2017), when the Florida Supreme Court said the ban served public safety and passed constitutional muster.

Then came September 10, 2025. The First District Court of Appeal, in McDaniels v. State (Case No. 1D2023-0533), tore through that history. The court found the statute unconstitutional, vacated McDaniels’s conviction, and said the government could not impose a blanket ban on open carry. It allowed room for “reasonable regulation,” but the decision broke nearly a century of precedent, at least inside that district’s reach.

Soon after, Attorney General James Uthmeier issued guidance. On September 15, he advised that once the ruling became final, September 25, after the rehearing window closed, law enforcement should treat open carry as lawful across the state. Some sheriffs agreed, telling deputies to stop arrests tied to the old ban. Others hesitated, waiting for the Florida Supreme Court or legislature to draw cleaner lines.

Even now, the limits stand: no guns in schools, courthouses, polling places, or government offices. Private property owners can still forbid them. So yes, open carry is legal in theory, but uncertain in practice, a patchwork of caution and confusion. 

Why I Still Think Open Carry Is a Mistake

1. Confusion Comes First
When the ground shifts overnight, ordinary people lose their footing. The First District’s ruling binds only part of Florida, roughly thirty-two counties. Cross into another, and the rules might read differently. A gun owner could be lawful in Tallahassee, detained in Tampa.

Picture someone walking into a grocery store, holstered pistol visible. They think McDaniels shields them. The local sheriff disagrees. What follows isn’t freedom. It’s another test case, another citizen caught in the gears of contradiction.

2. Perception and Escalation
Guns change a room before a word is spoken. A glimpse of metal, a nervous call to 911, officers rolling in hot. The carrier means no harm, but the scene tilts toward danger.

There’s also the practical side. A visible gun draws attention. A thief or felon might strike first, take the advantage of surprise. Concealment, by contrast, offers privacy, deterrence, control. Open carry gives away all three.

3. The Backlash Factor
It doesn’t take much. One photo online, a man with a rifle at a coffee counter, and the argument spins national. Opponents point, shout “See? Irresponsible.” Years of steady work undone by one viral image.

Our goal should be normalcy, not spectacle. Responsible ownership should blend into the fabric of daily life, not flash across headlines. Optics matter. They always have.

4. Losing Strategic Ground
The fight for gun rights was built on patience. Concealed carry, reciprocity, training reforms, all earned through credibility and persistence. Open carry upends that balance.

To lawmakers, a pistol on a hip in a grocery aisle looks less like liberty, more like volatility. It gives opponents an easier case for new restrictions. What begins as a statement of freedom can end as ammunition for regulation.

Why Open Carry Isn’t the Future

Open carry feels bold, almost defiant, but defiance alone doesn’t win trust. It breeds confusion, invites fear, and risks backlash. The Second Amendment’s real strength lies in responsibility and restraint, in citizens who carry quietly and live safely.

Florida’s new legal chapter should serve as a warning. Court victories can rise in a day and fall just as fast. Public opinion shifts faster than precedent. The lasting defense of the right to keep and bear arms won’t come from spectacle, it will come from steadiness.

That’s the battle worth fighting.