Back in 2015, Florida enacted a law recognizing the right to carry a firearm without a permit during emergency situations. With a Category 5 hurricane threatening the state, the time may be near for that law to take effect.
“People who may legally possess a firearm may carry concealed or carry on or about the person while ‘in the act of evacuating’ under a mandatory evacuation order during a declared state of emergency,” Marion Hammer, former NRA president and Unified Sportsmen of Florida executive director, told Guns.com on Tuesday. “So far, even though the governor has declared a state of emergency in all 67 counties, I am unaware of any mandatory evacuation order.” However, as the path and intensity of the storm became more certain, evacuation orders for those in Irma's path began rolling out the following day.
The law provides for a 48-hour window after the declaration of a mandatory evacuation order in which permitless carry is legal, but the governor is authorized to extend this period. We will be monitoring this situation as Irma draws closer to the mainland.
