Concealed Weapons At Florida Colleges & Universities? 'Campus Carry' Proposal Re-Emerges in Florida House

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - A long-debated proposal that would allow people with concealed weapons licenses to carry guns on state college and university campuses has re-emerged in the Florida House.

Rep. Anthony Sabatini, R-Howey-in-the-Hills, on Friday filed a "campus carry" proposal (HB 6007) for consideration during the 2022 legislative session, which will begin in January.

Backed by gun-rights supporters, similar proposals in the past have been opposed by higher-education leaders such as Florida State University President John Thrasher, a former House speaker and state senator who is retiring from his university post and will be succeeded Monday by Richard McCullough.

Sabatini has sponsored the campus-carry proposal for the past three years but has not been able to pass it.

In the 2021 session, House committees did not hear his bill, and a Senate version was not filed.

As of July 31, nearly 2.34 million concealed weapons licenses had been issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Licensing.

The number is up from 1.95 million in January 2019.