DeSantis Says He Will Call a Special Session for Open Carry if He Can Get the Votes

On Thursday, the state Senate voted in favor of the permitless carry bill, which will allow Floridians to carry concealed guns without a permit.

On Thursday, the state Senate voted in favor of the permitless carry bill, which will allow Floridians to carry concealed guns without a permit. In addition, it would no longer be necessary to complete a firearms safety and training course, pay a licensing fee, or provide a full set of fingerprints to the state. 

DeSantis has said he will sign the bill into law, but says he wants to go even further by allowing people to openly carry guns and is willing to hold a special session for this proposal.

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During a campaign event in Georgia, when an activist asked him, “Will you call a special session for open carry?” DeSantis answered, “If I can get the votes.”

Is not clear if there are enough votes to pass the bill in either chamber of the Legislature. All Democrats and some Republicans opposed it.  

“As a teacher, I saw the ways in which gun violence negatively impacted the young people in Florida mentally and physically. And now we are here… expecting our youth to grow up in a state where people are concealed carrying firearms without any sort of training,” Rep. Johanna Lopez, said in one of her depositions.