It was September of 2025 that the First District Court of Appeal in Florida rendered a groundbreaking ruling to the effect that Florida’s tradition of prohibiting the open carrying of firearms is unconstitutional. The decision automatically garnered national attention, not only because it impacts Florida law, but also because it is a reflection of the emerging trend regarding how courts have been interpreting the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.
This blog provides an overview of the case, the court’s rationale, and what Floridians must know for the future.
Background on Florida’s Open Carry Law
Florida Statute § 790.053, commonly referred to as the “open carry ban,” became effective in 1987. The law prohibited an individual from openly carrying a firearm in public, with only very limited exceptions.
- Penalties: The offense was a second-degree misdemeanor and was punishable as a 60-day imprisonment or a $500 fine.
- Exceptions: Open carrying was allowed in restricted situations such as hunting, fishing, camping, or target practice. For the licensed carriers of concealed weapons, the law had a loophole for temporary and involuntary presentation of a firearm, as long as it was not displayed in a threatening or angry manner.
Florida was among a mere four states in the nation with a general ban on open carry, along with California, Connecticut, and Illinois.
The McDaniels Case
The case that resulted in the overturning of the ban on open carry was that of Stanley Victor McDaniels.
- Incident: McDaniels posted on a corner downtown Pensacola on July 4, 2022. Wearing a holstered gun openly and carrying a printed U.S. Constitution, he even recorded his act with a camera.
- Arrest: Officers informed him that while his concealed carry license allowed him to carry concealed, open carrying was illegal in Florida. The police then obtained an arrest warrant, and he turned himself in a few days later.
- Trial Court Decision: McDaniels was convicted under Florida’s open carry statute. The trial court denied his constitutional objection but certified a question to the appeals court as to whether the statute offended the Second Amendment on national tradition grounds for regulating firearms.
McDaniels appealed and had his case heard by the First District Court of Appeal.
The Court’s Decision
On September 10, 2025, the First DCA three-judge panel issued its opinion in McDaniels v. State. The opinion, authored by Judge Stephanie Ray and joined by Judges Lori Rowe and M. Kemmerly Thomas, reads:.
The court ruled that Florida’s prohibition against open carrying infringes the Second Amendment and invalidated McDaniels’s conviction. The court asserted that the statute could not be harmonized with the words of the Second Amendment or with the United States experience involving the regulation of firearms.
Key Findings
Second Amendment Coverage
The court reasserted that the Second Amendment protects the right of common, law-abiding adults to “keep” and “bear” arms. To bear arms” is to carry them, openly or concealed, for self-defense. Because the statute absolutely barred carrying firearms openly, it imposed a restraint on conduct that was secured by the plain meaning of the Second Amendment.
Historical Tradition Test
Under the standard established by the U.S. Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), McDonald v. Chicago (2010), and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), courts must determine whether a modern-day gun law is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of gun control.
The First DCA looked back to founding-era and 19th-century law and found no early equivalent of a complete prohibition on open carry.
History actually taught that open carry was the default constitutionally-protected means of carrying weapons, but concealed carry would most likely be illegal.
Distinction Between Open and Concealed Carry
The court explained that open carry and concealed carry are not the same.
There were numerous historical precedents and laws that viewed open carry as legal and protected, yet concealed carry was typically illegal because it was linked with crime or ambush. Since Florida statute prohibited open carry altogether, it was a more extreme statute than had ever been tolerated in the United States.
The court explained that “No historical tradition supports Florida’s Open Carry Ban. To the contrary, history confirms that the right to bear arms in public necessarily includes the right to do so openly.”
The statute was consequently held to be unconstitutional, McDaniels’s conviction was reversed, and his sentence was vacated.
Relationship to Previous Cases
This ruling is a drastic departure from the 2017 Florida Supreme Court Norman v. State ruling, where the court defended the prohibition on open carry under an intermediate-scrutiny framework.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen decision (2022), though, abandoned that kind of “interest balancing” test. It instead imposed upon courts the responsibility to examine gun restrictions only against the Constitution’s text and nation’s history of tradition.
The First DCA noted that it was constrained by the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Second Amendment, even if such is done at the expense of overturning the previous decision in Norman by the Florida Supreme Court.
What Happens Next?
The First District Court of Appeal decision is far from the final word.
- Possible Appeal: The State of Florida may and has already as of the date this is being written signaled their plans to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court or even, the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Present Impact: Unless stayed or overturned, the ruling makes Florida’s open carry statute unconstitutional.
- Regulations Still Authorized: The court explicitly established that open carry is not “absolute” and may still be regulated reasonably. For example, the prohibitions of carrying firearms in sensitive places like courthouses, schools, or airports remain valid.
Broader Implications
Florida’s ban on open carry was one of the strictest in the country. In striking it down, the court brought Florida into the majority of states in which open carry is permitted except to varying degrees of regulation.
It’s part of a larger national pattern, as well. State courts around the country are re-examining gun restrictions in light of the new “text, history, and tradition” test enunciated in Bruen. Provisions that had withstood intermediate scrutiny now face re-examination, and further restrictions may be vulnerable to challenge under the Constitution.
Summary
- The open-carry prohibition enacted in 1987 in Florida made it a crime to carry a weapon openly on public property.
- Stanley McDaniels was arrested and convicted under the law in 2022 for carrying a holstered handgun openly in Pensacola.
- In the appeal, the First District Court of Appeal struck down the law, and it was held by the court that the law was unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.
- The court held that open carry forms part of the Second Amendment right to bear arms and that there is no history to support an outright prohibition.
- The ruling invalidates the conviction of McDaniels and nullifies the statute, although appeals may continue.
This decision is an earthquake shift in Florida gun law and will likely be a cause of legal and popular outrage for some time during the appeals process.
If you are concerned about how this decision may affect you or wish to receive notice of important developments in the law of Florida, call Jaime “Mr. 786 Abogado” Suarez at (305) 631-1911 or www.suarezandmontero.com
