With little fanfare, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday allowing residents to carry a concealed loaded weapon without a permit.
DeSantis signed the bill in a nonpublic event in his office with only bill sponsors, legislative leaders and gun rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association, in attendance.
It was a notable departure for a governor who regularly holds splashy news conferences and bill-signing ceremonies.
Florida is now the 26th state to pass some form of permitless carry legislation. The signing comes one week after six people, including three children, were gunned down at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.
“This is a momentous step in the Constitutional Carry movement as now the majority of American states recognize the Constitution protects the right for law-abiding Americans to defend themselves outside their homes without fees or permits,” Randy Kozuch, interim executive director of the NRA-ILA, the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association, said in a statement, which included a picture of the event. “The carry movement began decades ago and the NRA has been working to get this legislation passed throughout America. Therefore, today is indeed a day to celebrate.”
Opponents of the proposal have said that it will increase gun violence and that it was telling that DeSantis did not hold a public-signing ceremony like he has done in the past for other high-profile bills.
“Governor DeSantis just signed permitless carry into law behind closed doors, probably because he knows it’s dangerous and unpopular,” tweeted Giffords, a gun safety group founded by former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, who is a gun violence survivor.
The group spent more than $125,000 on a media campaign opposing the bill.
DeSantis’ office issued a brief statement hours after the bill was signed, saying only that “Constitutional Carry is in the books.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
