Activists from Moms Demand Action, an organization that pushes for tougher gun laws. Credit: Elizabeth Randall

Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly signed permitless carry into law permitless carry into law yesterday, allowing Floridians to carry firearms without a special license. The move comes just a week after three children and three adults were gunned down in another school shooting, this one in Nashville.

Moms Demand Action, a nationwide nonprofit advocating for increased gun safety legislation, called Florida’s new permitless carry, “a reckless, extreme law.”

Tampa Republican Sen. Jay Collins, who sponsored the bill, tweeted that “you don’t need a permission slip from the government to exercise your constitutional rights. We are restoring the Second Amendment here in the Free State of Florida.”

In response to Florida’s new permitless carry, Moms Demand Action’s Hillsborough and Pasco chapters are hosting a rally against gun violence in downtown Tampa today, Tuesday, April 4 at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, 600 N. Ashley Dr., at 5 p.m.

In 2018, following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the state passed several strong gun laws. Those included expanded background checks, waiting periods, and other measures. The folks at Moms Demand say Florida’s new law will “decimate” those 2018 protections.