DeSantis signs bill to carry concealed guns without a permit

Florida residents will be able to carry concealed guns without a permit under a bill signed into law on Monday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

The law, which goes into effect on July 1, means that anyone who can legally own a gun in Florida can carry a concealed gun in public without any training or background check. 

“Constitutional Carry is in the books,” DeSantis said.

A White House spokesperson slammed DeSantis, who signed the bill into law just days after the school shooting in Nashville. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called it “shameful”

“This is the opposite of commonsense gun safety,” Jean-Pierre said. “The people of Florida — who have paid a steep price for state and Congressional inaction on guns from Parkland to Pulse Nightclub to Pine Hills — deserve better.”

DeSantis previously said that he’d support open permitless carry of firearms because “if it’s concealed, it makes it easier for somebody to potentially do a crime.” He added that he wouldn’t veto a permitless concealed carry bill from his legislature if it didn’t have open carry.

Florida has issued more than 2.6 million concealed weapons permits, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The new law does not impact the background check and three-day waiting period required to purchase a gun in Florida. Florida does not require a permit to buy a gun.

A March University of North Florida poll of 1,452 registered voters found that just 21% of people in the state support concealed carry without a permit, with 77% of those polled saying they oppose the bill strongly or somewhat.