Sen. Greg Steube says he’s not moving forward with a comprehensive proposal to legalize open carry in the Sunshine State.
Steube made the announcement after Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, where he sits as chair. Open carry as a whole isn’t totally off the table, though. Steube said he would instead file several different, smaller gun measures, which would still tick several proposals he has long pushed off of his legislative checklist.
"Instead of looking at it as a huge comprehensive bill, we're going to try to do it piecemeal," Steube told the Miami Herald. "Just from feeling the tea leaves, it's probably better to attack it piece by piece."
Steube’s original proposal, SB 140, would have lifted some “gun free” zones in Florida where carrying firearms is prohibited, even for concealed carry permit holders.
If passed, the bill would have allow Florida's 1.7 million CCW permit holders to openly carry their firearms. The more sweeping part of the measure, however, would eliminate gun-free zones in places like secondary schools, local centers and government meeting areas. Airports are also included.
Steube said the smaller bills would focus on some of his larger priorities, like lifting the ban on campus carry and on allowing concealed carry permit holders to carry their firearms in airports.
Carrying firearms in airports became a hot button issue after a mass shooting in the Fort Lauderdale Airport which left five dead and six injured. Steube said the massacre only bolstered the case for allowing concealed carry permit holders to bring their firearms into airports.
“The situation at the airport further puts a big spotlight on the fact that gun free zones and laws that prevent law abiding citizens to carry.. the only person that protects is the criminal,” Steube told Sunshine State News earlier this month.
Steube has long been a supporter of Second Amendment rights and many of his bills have gathered widespread support from pro-gun groups like Florida Carry and the National Rifle Association.
Sunshine State News contacted Sen. Steube for further comment but he had not responded to phone calls at the time of this article’s release.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
