By Jane Musgrave
When a Tallahassee-based state appellate court in September ruled that Florida’s 1987 prohibition on openly carrying firearms was unconstitutional, gun rights activists cheered.
But even though open carry became the law of the state on Sept. 25 after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier refused to challenge the decision, there remain few places where gun owners can publicly exercise what they — and now the courts — have said is their Second Amendment right.
“It’s important to know that the open and concealed carrying of firearms remains restricted in numerous places,” Boca Raton police officer Jose Martinez said in a Facebook video, explaining the far-flung limitations.
Explaining that it is a “founding belief” to follow all laws, Publix is one of the few major retailers that said it would allow customers to carry firearms. Winn-Dixie, Walmart, Costco, Target and Trader Joe’s are among the vast majority of big retailers that said they would not allow guns to be carried in their stores.
Firearms will also remain off-limits in city, county, state and federal government buildings, including during public meetings.
It is still illegal to carry guns in police departments, jails, courthouses, polling places, airport terminals and schools, from elementary through college, including at athletic events. That prohibition extends to professional sports. Bars, including bar areas in restaurants, remain gun-free zones.
Private landowners also continue to have the right to ban firearms. Homeowners associations can vote to prohibit the open carrying of guns at meetings and in common areas, like clubhouses.
Likewise, the owners of banks, office buildings, shops, amusement centers, museums, places of worship and golf courses can prohibit people from carrying firearms and have violators charged with trespassing.
In the video, Martinez said basic rules remain in place. People must be at least 21 years old to purchase a firearm and over the age of 18 to possess one. Further, those with felony convictions or people who have been stripped of their ability to possess firearms by court order remain unable to carry guns in public.
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