After several long years, Florida has permitless carry. It’s not a perfect measure, as I’ve already noted, but it’s a major step forward.

It’s a move that a lot of people are very uncomfortable with. While they should all learn to live with the disappointment of not restricting people’s rights to such a degree, it’s needlessly belligerent to pretend there aren’t concerns on that side of the debate.

Some of them sure look legitimate, particularly if you’re not semi-well-versed in the permitless carry debate.

Take the fact that Florida’s concealed carry permits require a training class. The fact that it’s no longer a requirement makes people very nervous.

Community members are sharing their thoughts after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that will make it legal to carry a concealed gun without a permit.

The new law that goes into effect in July also eliminates the need to get training.

The Jacksonville chapter of Moms Demand Action protested Tuesday in front of the Duval County Public Schools headquarters to speak out against the bill.

They say it’s not something they approve of and makes the state less safe. Those in favor of the bill have said it will make the state safer and give people the chance to take care of themselves without jumping through so many hoops.

…

“I think it’s just asinine that we are rolling back our guns laws,” said Katie Hathaway with Moms Demand Action.

Hathaway said she doesn’t understand why the governor would sign it.

Well, that’s one way to declare yourself to be less than gifted in the intellect department.

Look, I get that people disagree, but Hathaway seems to labor under the impression that DeSantis actually thinks gun control does any good. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t, though, which is why he championed this bill from the start.

Hathaway went on to state that she believes permitless carry will increase violence throughout the state. Why criminals will suddenly feel empowered to carry firearms they still can’t lawfully carry is beyond me, but I’m sure Hathaway has some convoluted reasoning.

But there are some who are concerned about the training requirement, as I mentioned. What does anyone have to say about that?

Well…

Sean Caranna executive director of Florida Carry said he’s happy the bill is expanding what he said is citizens’ Constitutional right to bear arms.

He said people shouldn’t be worried about the bill not requiring training.

“A government-specified training requirement is not the same thing as being educated. And many many people have been taught by family members, have been taught by veterans,” Caranna said.

Precisely.

Further, a lot of people sit through the mandated training just to punch the ticket, so to speak. They’re not there to learn, just to check off a requirement. While many will get useful information from such a class, a lot of people won’t bother.

In other words, a training requirement isn’t proof that someone actually knows how to handle a firearm responsibly.

Then you have people like those Caranna mentioned. My initial firearm training came from my late father, a Vietnam veteran and veteran police officer. He taught me how to shoot, how to handle a firearm responsibly, and what the self-defense laws of the time were.

All of that was reinforced when I was in the military.

Yet according to the state of Florida, I couldn’t be trusted to carry a gun down there because I didn’t punch the ticket.

As for Hathaway’s freakout, she should be aware of a few things.

One, Florida is the 26th state to pass permitless carry in some form or another. We’re not seeing the results she claims we’d see.

Additionally, a whole lot of other states, including the states Florida shares a border with, don’t have training requirements. It wasn’t an issue in either of those states and it won’t be there with permitless carry on the books now.