The Nation : Florida Acts to End Open Toting of Guns

The Florida House and Senate voted unanimously to close a loophole in a new gun law that apparently lets people carry weapons openly in public without fear of being arrested. The bills differed slightly, and the issue will be addressed again today. “We’ve received a lot of bad publicity on this matter,” said state Rep. Ron Silver. The new law was intended to make it easier to get licenses to carry concealed weapons after Oct. 1. But in passing the law last spring, the Legislature also struck down an 1893 law that forbade open carrying of guns. The House version passed unanimously contained a provision that would force the 1988 Legislature to readdress the issue, a provision which the Senate bill did not contain.