BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — The right for Floridians to carry a gun out in the open passed its first subcommittee hearing Tuesday in Tallahassee.
People on both sides of the issue spoke out,; among them was Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey, who is in favor of citizens openly carrying a weapon.
The debate was swift and lasted about 30 minutes. If Houses Bill 163 continues to pass committees, people who qualify to carry a concealed weapons permit would also be able to carry a gun out in the open.
"I will promise you the best law enforcement agencies have response times in minutes, but violent criminals are going to take our lives in seconds," said Ivey, who spoke before the subcommittee during the public comment section of the hearing Tuesday morning.
Ivey had strong words and stated he was representing the beliefs of the people of Brevard County and not that of the 67 sheriffs in Florida.
"This is about allowing our citizens to protect themselves. This is about allowing them to protect themselves not only for the right to bear arms, but the right to show that they are a hard target," said Ivey.
Right now, 45 states across the country have some sort of law that allows people to openly carry a weapon. This bill would add Florida to the 15 states that do allow it for people who have certain licenses or permits.
Most states -- 30 of them -- actually allow people to openly carry a gun with no special license at all.
"Rarely do we see where someone goes in and robs a pawn shop or rarely do we see somebody rob a gun store because they know what awaits them on the other side," said Ivey.
If this were to become law, an open carry permit would require the same restrictions as a concealed weapons permit and would only apply to hand guns, not rifles or automatic weapons.
Opponents are worried.
"It has worked so long and so well in Florida, why would you want to change it," said Jon Gutmacher who wrote the book, Florida Firearms: Law, Use and Ownership.
Gutmacher says an open carry policy makes people a target to criminals looking to take out a threat before they commit a crime and takes away the element of surprise that can help stop a criminal.
"If I need to have it, nobody knows I have it. I can use that element of surprise to my favor," argued Gutmacher.
Even if it passes the various hurdles through the Florida house and Senate, owners of private property like malls, movie theaters, and theme parks can still ban all guns if they choose.
Under Florida law, there's no carrying any guns in schools, government meetings, airports, or bars.
If approved, the bill would not become law until July of 2016.