BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is hailing a unanimous ruling by a three-judge appeals court panel in Florida which strikes down the state’s Open Carry ban as unconstitutional, reversing the conviction of gun rights activist Stanley V. McDaniels and vacating his sentence.
- McDaniels was arrested on July 4, 2022 for openly carrying a sidearm at a Pensacola intersection. He was convicted for violating the Open Carry ban and sentenced to probation and community service. The organization Florida Carry immediately got involved, and Mr. McDaniels was represented by attorneys Eric Friday and Chris Crawford. Wednesday’s unanimous decision was authored by Judge Stephanie W. Ray, with concurrence by Judges Lori S. Rowe and M. Kemmerly Thomas at Florida’s First District Court of Appeals.
- “This is a huge victory for Florida gun owners, and especially for our friends at Florida Carry,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “We are hopeful the ruling will be quickly upheld by the Florida State Supreme Court so Sunshine State gun owners can enjoy the same Open Carry freedoms that citizens in almost every other state already have.”
- Attorney Friday told CCRKBA that the McDaniels case also received support from Gun Owners of America and attorney Don Kilmer, who frequently works with the Second Amendment Foundation. He said the appeals court ruling is not final until after time for all motions has run out, which he said will be in 15 days.
Writing for the court, Judge Ray wrote, “Florida law generally makes it a crime for an ordinary, law-abiding, adult citizen to carry a firearm openly in public. Stanley Victor McDaniels was convicted under that law, and he now appeals. He contends that this open carry ban is incompatible with the Second Amendment’s guarantee of the right to bear arms. Guided by the Constitution’s text and this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation, we agree. We therefore declare the law unconstitutional, vacate McDaniels’s conviction, and reverse his sentence.”
“We’re going to follow this case to its conclusion,” Gottlieb promised, “and we’re hoping for a swift resolution which upholds the Appeals Court panel ruling. This is great news as we prepare for the annual Gun Rights Policy Conference later this month (Sept. 26-28) in Salt Lake City.”