I’ll say right up front that I’ve adopted an “I’ll believe it when I see it” mentality towards Constitutional Carry in the Sunshine State. Yes, I know that Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he’s all for the idea, but the bill introduced by Rep. Anthony Sabatini never even got a committee hearing in the state House this year, and there was no Senate companion bill that could even be heard in theory. I think support for the measure is growing, but I’m not sure I’d call it a front-burner issue for Republicans in Florida at the moment.

Having said that, it’s definitely worth noting that one of the legislative leaders who’ll be responsible for shepherding any permitless carry bill to DeSantis’ desk now says that the House will act, and approve, a Constitutional Carry bill next session.

Incoming Florida House Speaker Paul Renner told a supporter his chamber would move a “constitutional carry” policy for gun owners in Florida in the next legislative session, according to a video surreptitiously recorded at a fundraising event last month and posted online.

In the video, which was filmed at a House GOP fundraising event in Ocala on May 17, a man pulls Renner aside and asks if expanding the right for Floridians to carry guns without permits would be a legislative priority.

“I can tell you, we’ll do it in the House,” Renner tells the man. “We need to work on the Senate a little bit.”

“The issue on constitutional carry is whether government should be playing a role in saying whether you can or can’t carry outside the home when you meet the basic requirements of being able to pass a background check,” he said.

In April, Gov. Ron DeSantis promised to deliver a bill allowing permitless carry before his time as governor was through. The support of Renner, who leads one of Florida’s two legislative bodies, would mean the policy would have significant momentum next legislative session.

… Renner isn’t coming in with a preconceived notion of what Florida’s “constitutional carry”legislation would look like, and seeks to balance the liberties of the Second Amendment with the need for safety, said his spokesperson, Andres Malave.

Incoming Senate President Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, saidin a text Wednesday thatissues related to firearms are top of mind for her colleagues and constituents, especially after the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, and the shootings in Florida at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018 that killed 17 and at Pulse nightclub in Orlando in 2016 that killed 49.

Passidomo said she hasn’t spoken with Renner about constitutional carry. In a podcast interview from May, which was recorded before the recent spate of high-profile mass shootings in America, Passidomo said she had heard from constituents who support the move, and from those who worry it could impact tourism and quality of life.

“I think that it’s such a divisive, such a big issue, and the term ‘constitutional carry’ means put it in the constitution,” Passidomo said in the interview on “The Bob Harden Show.” “If that’s what you want, let the voters decide.”

Passidomo on Wednesday pointed to Florida’s red flag law as a good balance between Second Amendment rights and protecting communities and schools. That law allows law enforcement to petition for a risk protection order if they believe someone is a danger to themselves or others. If a judge approves the order, firearms are removed from a person’s home.The process allows the person given the order to oppose it in court.