Brevard County Republican state Sen. Randy Fine has filed legislation (SB 814) that would extend concealed carry rights to Florida colleges and universities.
The state lawmaker — now running for a seat in Congress — has said over the past year that such legislation is necessary to protect students from “on-campus Muslim terror.”
The bill language says that a person “may carry a firearm on the property of any college or university, including, but not limited to, any dormitory or residence hall owned or operated by a college or university, and in any other location he or she is legally authorized to do so.”
The measure also says that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) may authorize a college or university, while hosting or sponsoring a sporting event, to designate a campus facility or area as a sensitive location in which possession of a concealed weapon is prohibited. To receive such authorization, the school must submit a security plan to the FDLE for approval.
Fine says that he determined to file the bill after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel, in light of the “many universities around the country refusing to protect their students from on-campus Muslim terror.”
“The Second Amendment does not take the semester off when you step on a college campus,” Fine said in a statement. “Adults should have the right to protect themselves on campus, particularly after so many universities across America chose to protect Muslim terror advocates over their own students. There is no magic force field that keeps criminals from carrying a gun onto campus; this bill will ensure that students have the same rights on campus as they do off.”
Other potential gun legislation for 2025
Similar legislation has been filed nearly every year by Florida Republicans over the past decade without success.
Twelve states do not force colleges and universities to allow concealed guns on campus, according to Everytown Research & Policy, a gun-safety group.
Due to laws such as Stand Your Ground, Florida has gained the reputation as being extremely gun-friendly, sometimes labeled “the Gunshine State.”
But, in fact, the state does enforce more regulations on firearms than in many parts of the nation.
Take open carry: Florida is one of five states that do not allow the open carrying of guns, although that may change in this coming session. During his skirmish with GOP lawmakers over an illegal immigration bill, both Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis indicated support for open carry, with the governor saying it would “be great to see it hit my desk.”
The leadership in the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature has resisted proposals in recent years to repeal parts of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act such as lowering the age to carry a firearm in Florida from 21 to 18 — Sen. Fine has filed legislation (SB 94) that would do that during the 2025 legislative session.
Fine is running in Florida’s 6th Congressional District in a special election slated for April 1 against Democrat Josh Weil and three non-party affiliated or third-party candidates. The district leans conservative, and Fine has been endorsed by Donald Trump for the seat. He has already submitted his resignation from the Florida Senate effective March 31.
The district includes Palm Coast, stretches to just east of Gainesville, and includes portions of The Villages.
–Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
