Open Carry Proposed in Florida House-Trial Set in 2026 on Tech Law

State Rep. Joel Rudman, R-Navarre, on Monday filed a bill that would allow Floridians to openly carry firearms, though Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, has expressed opposition to the idea.

The bill (HB 31) also seeks to repeal a “red-flag” law that allows authorities to take guns from people found to pose a “significant danger” to themselves or others. The Legislature approved the red-flag law as part of a wide-ranging measure after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Rudman, who is running in a special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said in a Facebook post that the bill “repeals Florida’s unconstitutional red flag laws and makes Florida an open carry state. ‘Shall not be infringed’ will mean something here in the Gunshine state!”

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Because of his congressional candidacy, Rudman will leave the state House before the 2025 legislative session, which will start March 4. Floridians can carry concealed weapons, but lawmakers have stopped short of allowing people to openly carry firearms. When asked about the issue last month, Albritton cited opposition from law-enforcement officials to what is known as open carry.

“Let me be clear about this, I’ve supported law enforcement my entire life. It’s the way I was raised, and I’ve been super-consistent as a legislator to support law enforcement in Florida. And I’d encourage you to check that record,” Albritton told reporters. “And I stand with them today in opposition. They oppose it. I trust my law-enforcement officials, and that’s where I stand.” The red-flag law has drawn pushback from Second Amendment advocates and some law-enforcement officials. But supporters say the law has saved lives.

Trial Set in 2026 on Tech Law

A federal judge has scheduled a trial in January 2026 in a fight about the constitutionality of a 2021 Florida law that placed restrictions on social-media platforms. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle last week issued an order that included scheduling a trial to start Jan. 5, 2026.

The order revised an earlier schedule that would have led to a trial in November 2025. The tech-industry groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association are challenging the constitutionality of the law, which, for example, would prevent platforms from banning political candidates from their sites and require companies to publish — and apply consistently — standards about issues such as banning users or blocking their content.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Legislature approved the law after Facebook and Twitter, now known as X, blocked now-President-elect Donald Trump from their platforms after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Hinkle in 2021 issued a preliminary injunction to block the law on First Amendment grounds.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2022 upheld most of Hinkle’s decision. But on July 1, the Supreme Court vacated the appeals-court ruling and said the lawsuit needed further consideration, resulting in the case going back to Hinkle. In its ruling, the Supreme Court did not resolve the constitutional issues but said the 11th Circuit and another appeals court in a similar Texas case did not properly consider the “facial nature” of challenges to the laws, a critical element in deciding whether they met constitutional muster.

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