While a lot of people are uncomfortable at the sight of some openly carrying a firearm, there is a profound lack of stories about people carrying openly killing innocent people, either accidentally or intentionally. They don't walk into the curb store, gun on their hip, and rob it. They don't commit some other kind of armed robbery, then reholster their firearm in an open carry holster.
In other words, people who openly carry a firearm might make people uncomfortable, but they're not a problem that anyone needs to fret about.
And if you're in a preemption state that allows open carry, it doesn't matter if you want to fret about it or not; you legally can't do anything to block the practice.
It's unfortunate that a fairground in Florida seems to need to go to court in order to learn that lesson.
🚨ATTENTION FLORIDA GUN OWNERS🚨
— Luis Valdes (@RealFLGunLobby) March 8, 2026
In Bradford County, it appears Florida’s State Preemption law is being violated.
A @GunOwners member reports that the Bradford County Sheriff personally declared the publicly owned fairgrounds a “gun-free zone.”
That's a no-go under FL law. pic.twitter.com/mOPdS9rKvx
The State of Florida has agreed in court with @GunOwners, recognizing that open carry is protected by the Second Amendment.
— Luis Valdes (@RealFLGunLobby) March 10, 2026
Whoever declared the Bradford County Fair a gun-free zone is violating Florida’s state preemption law—and the settlement agreement in GOA v. Del Toro. https://t.co/2PxHIQy1y4 pic.twitter.com/j1m97i4SOu
So they're trying to do it, they can't lawfully do it, and now there's going to be a whole court case about how they can't lawfully do it.
Ideally, Bradford County will wake up and recognize that a sheriff can't just bypass state law because he figures it'll make his job easier. That's not how things work. We have our rights preserved by the Constitution specifically so governmental authorities can't just decide that some right doesn't matter because it gets in the way of them doing their job the way they want to.
Of course, if the sheriff wasn't involved in this, it becomes an even dumber move, because sheriffs have actual authority to enforce laws. Anyone else affiliated with the fairground trying to do something like this is someone trying to flex their authority that they don't actually have.
Either way, this isn't likely to go the way whoever ordered for that sign to be put up intended for it to go.
Gun rights advocates aren't exactly known for sitting back and just taking it when someone threatens our rights. We tend to dig in and get ready for a fight that we will take as far as we need to take it. Considering how that's worked out in Florida on most things, forgetting that is colossally stupid.
This is a case we'll be paying attention to, and since this is a publicly-owned fairground, it seems likely the courts will side with the Second Amendment. Eventually, at least, though I'd be very surprised to see it have to go too deep into the judicial chain in the Sunshine State.
Yeah, a lot of things could be better in Florida, but I just don't see this one sticking around.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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