Florida is a state of many, often conflicting reputations. The beaches are gorgeous. The headlines to come out of the state are wild. The politics always makes for what can charitably be described as “interesting reading.”
What is making headlines now, thought, is pretty darn awesome.
Florida is getting really close to their 2,000,000 concealed carry permit.
According to WWSB, the sunshine state has 1,971,997 concealed weapon permits as of March 31.
That’s a lot of protection.
Part of the credit is thanks to Florida’s intolerance of open carry.
Unlike most other states, it is illegal in most circumstances to openly carry a gun in public in Florida. The state requires prospective permit-holders to be at least 21, undergo training, demonstrate they can safely fire a gun on a range, submit fingerprints to the state and have no felony criminal record. The permit, which resembles a driver’s license, initially costs about $100 and remains valid for seven years. It takes about two months to receive a permit after applying.
WWSB
Not only do the permits cover handguns — they cover a range of self-defense weaponry.
Felons or applicants with convictions for domestic violence or a record of drug or alcohol abuse are ineligible. Since July, Florida denied 6,430 people who sought permits.
WWSB
Florida’s permit covers weapons, not just guns, including knives or stun guns. Permit-holders are still not allowed to carry guns in schools, post offices, court buildings, airport terminals, police stations or on university campuses.
Florida’s insanely high percentage of permit holders means that roughly 12% of the adult population has a valid permit. Although that’s awesome, 11 other states have a higher rate of permit-holders. Also, we need to keep in mind that many of the Florida permits are held by non-residents.
One might call that rate rookie numbers. Not me, though.
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