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Florida Laws Regarding Concealed Carry

28K views 21 replies 15 participants last post by  bob3 
#1 · (Edited)
I have done my research to save my butt if needed:
I myself have had many questions and had to undergo hours of research to get the answers I needed.

When Can I use my gun?

1.To Protect your self or another from great bodily harm or death
2.To prevent a forcible felony: Robbery, Kidnapping, Rape, ect
3.To Protect your self in your dwelling against unauthorized intruders:home/car/business.
4. YOU CAN NOT use deadly force to protect property, ie- someone stealing a tool from the bed of your truck

Places you cannot carry your gun:

any place of nuisance as defined in s. 823.05
any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station
any detention facility, prison, or jail; any courthouse
any courtroom*
any polling place
any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special district
any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof
any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms
any school administration building
any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption*
any elementary or secondary school facility
any area technical center
any college or university facility*
inside the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport*
any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law ****ANY FEDERAL BUILDING**** THIS INCLUDES POST OFFICES, THE BUILDINGS AT NATIONAL PARKS. YOU MAY CARRY AT THE PARK, BUT NOT IN THE BUILDINGS. restrictions apply.

1. any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption** Yes you may carry into a restaurant that serves liquor, but you can't sit at the bar, nor can you enter a bar only. You may enter a liquor store only if alcohol is consumed off premisis.

**PRINTING** - The visual confirmation someone is carrying a gun by seeing the outline of such through the clothing. THIS IS A BIG ISSUE WITH ALL. Concealed carry is a way of life. You have to adjust your clothing style. When I shop for clothing, I get my clothes waist a little bigger to leave room for my gun in my waist band. I buy shirts that are a little longer than usual so there is no chance that the gun will be seen if I bend over. When shopping for clothes, bring your weapon and try clothes on with it. If it is not comfortable then you will not wear it. NO GUN, NO PROTECTION.:pistols

If you have a specific question, leave a reply and I will get back with you.


LEGAL ADVISE IS NOT GUARANTEED AS LAWS CHANGE, NOTHING IN THE FOURM IS EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED! I AM NOT A LAWYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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#2 ·
I have done my research to save my butt if needed:
I myself have had many questions and had to undergo hours of research to get the answers I needed.

When Can I use my gun?

1.To Protect your self or another from great bodily harm or death
2.To prevent a forcible felony: Robbery, Kidnapping, Rape, ect
3.To Protect your self in your dwelling against unauthorized intruders:home/car/business.
4. YOU CAN NOT use deadly force to protect property, ie- someone stealing a tool from the bed of your truck

Places you cannot carry your gun:

any place of nuisance as defined in s. 823.05
any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station
any detention facility, prison, or jail; any courthouse
any courtroom*
any polling place
any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special district
any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof
any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms
any school administration building
any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption*
any elementary or secondary school facility
any area technical center
any college or university facility*
inside the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport*
any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law ****ANY FEDERAL BUILDING**** THIS INCLUDES POST OFFICES, THE BUILDINGS AT NATIONAL PARKS. YOU MAY CARRY AT THE PARK, BUT NOT IN THE BUILDINGS. restrictions apply.

1. any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption** Yes you may carry into a restaurant that serves liquor, but you can't sit at the bar, nor can you enter a bar only. You may enter a liquor store only if alcohol is consumed off premisis.

**PRINTING** - The visual confirmation someone is carrying a gun by seeing the outline of such through the clothing. THIS IS A BIG ISSUE WITH ALL. Concealed carry is a way of life. You have to adjust your clothing style. When I shop for clothing, I get my clothes waist a little bigger to leave room for my gun in my waist band. I buy shirts that are a little longer than usual so there is no chance that the gun will be seen if I bend over. When shopping for clothes, bring your weapon and try clothes on with it. If it is not comfortable then you will not wear it. NO GUN, NO PROTECTION.:pistols

If you have a specific question, leave a reply and I will get back with you.


LEGAL ADVISE IS NOT GUARANTEED AS LAWS CHANGE, NOTHING IN THE FOURM IS EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED!
adog,

Have you taken your CWFL class yet? If not, I would recommend you get on it. In addition, go to http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/in...tm&StatuteYear=2006&Title=->2006->Chapter 790

Finally, pick up Gutmacher's Florida Firearms Law, and read it. Then read it again, with a marker and post-it notes.

It could save your butt.
 
#6 ·
Soooooooooo many thoughts/choices. :D

Thanks for the info, adog. Appreciate it. I'll get back to you if I have a question.

Welcome to the forum. Lots to learn here.
 
#7 ·
Then again, there's always your local library. They wouldn't let me check it out but a couple of hours a day didn't take long and I just copied select pages. I'm "interpreting" FS 790.06 (12), Mr. Gutmacher's take on page 68 and this from the Division of Licensing: "However, many restaurants today serve such (alcoholic) beverages. These establishments are not "primarily devoted" to the sale of alcoholic beverages. Licensees may carry a weapon or firearm into such a restaurant as long as they do not enter the lounge area, if the restaurant does have a separate space so designated.
(Emphasis added)

It's been argued that Outback, Applebees and Carrabba's have their bar area, but is a place like Hooter's or Stevie Tomato's, without one any less a "restaurant" They're all licensed by Dept of BPR for "permanent food service" and "retail beverage"

There seems to be a bit of grey here (or am I just too dumb to see the forest for the trees?) Case law in this area seems thin to nonexistant, no?

(I am not a lawyer but I watched one on TV.)

Anyone care to interpret along?
 
#8 ·
I think in florida a business is devoted entirely to alcohol only if they allow smoking in the establishment. I interpret it as if there is smoking allowed inside, you can't carry. If there is a patio area with a bar and allows smoking, you can't carry. Anywhere else in the restaurante is ok except if your sitting at the actual bar in a place like outback, applebees, etc.
 
#10 ·
Smoking?

Never heard of the smoking bit and I've been keeping up with FS790 for years. Hooters here have outside bars and smoking - inside bars and no smoking. Diamond Billiards in Cape Coral permits smoking inside (strip mall - no outside services) and is licensed for "Permanent Food Service" as well as "Retail Beverage" by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Catch 22? Grey areas abound and I haven't been able to find any case law on the question. I'm confident that if some concealed permit holder had to respond to a crazed lunatic in a local Hooters, that no charges would be brought and if pressure were applied to do so, no jury would convict.

If you're carrying "concealed" no one knows and this is all moot. If you carry carelessly and draw attention to yourself, you deserve whatever attention and scrutiny you get.
 
#18 ·
Old thread, but you're new. :grin

'Printing' is not illegal.

Brief exposure is not, nor has it ever been, illegal in Florida.

Many consider both to be careless/lazy. Me? I do my best to avoid both, but do not dwell on it.

Having said that, depending on location, it may cause you a visit by the local constabulary. But the LEO in Hillsborough/Tampa, in my experience are calm, rational, adults about it. Pasco and Pinellas, in general are OK, just a little more stressed out it seems.
 
#19 ·
Listen, While Mr. Buckley is a learned Attorney and is a absolutely great one at that, (So he says!) case law is used by the courts and attorneys to build a case against and for those of citizens being prosecuted due to an allegation that a law was broken. In Mr. Gutmacher's book he says many times his remarks are only his opinion, but there is no case law to support it. Then he says not to become case law because you might lose. When in the military the salute was rendered to officers due to rank, not the man. However that officer could cause you a lot of grief if that officer decided you did not salute when you should have. Saluting when not required was not something one could be punished for under the Code of Military Justice, hence the phrase, "When in doubt, salute." So let's just carry this forward to concealed carry and say when in doubt don't carry. But if you are not sure and decide to carry and you are arrested the rest of thank you for providing the case law to finally answer that grey area question.
 
#21 ·
I think safetyguy is right on the mark. We all tend to think law is black & white, but until there have been cases over a particular detail, it is grey.
I used to work for a CPA, so asked about a certain tax deduction that I thought I should be able to claim, but couldn't find anything one way or the other in my research. Basically his answer was that until someone went to court over it, no one would know if it would be allowed or not. So, I could either play it safe, and not take the deduction, or take the deduction, and if audited, would have to argue why it should be allowed. Since I figured the odds were in my favor (and I believed I had a good basis for taking it), I took the deduction.
Same thing with CC laws. Here in KS, we are required to take an 8 hour class over the state CC & use-of-force laws, before getting our CCL. One of our highly-esteemed CC instructors told me they held a class for lawyers. The students couldn't agree on any specific point of the law, other than if you're questioned for any possible violation of it, you need to have a lawyer.
In other words, if you are concealed well enough, and do not need to use your gun for self-defense, you don't really need to worry about the grey areas. If either you aren't adequately concealed, or else you have to draw, then you'll be the one to paying to "take the grey out" of the law on that point.
 
#22 ·
So on the playing it safe side, I have consistently done so in one situation I post it here for your thoughts.

My children attend a Catholic school that has a church across the street. What's the thought on carrying to church in this situation? The school and church share a parking lot that's also across a street from the school, and I don't know if that's "school" or "church" or if the distinction matters. Sometimes on the way to church we walk on the exterior city sidewalk adjacent to the school, which is is a completely detached building across a two-lane street. It is also possible to go to the church without ever setting foot on the sidewalk adjacent to the school.

I've followed the common sense rule of "don't bother" not wanting to be Gutmacher's test case, but wondered if anyone that's thought through this longer than I has any opinion.
 
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