http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/state/open-carry-law-expected-to-pass-03162011Open-carry law expected to pass
Updated: Wednesday, 16 Mar 2011, 9:22 PM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 16 Mar 2011, 9:22 PM EDT
Warren
Elly
TAMPA - Already known as "The Gun-Shine State," critics say Florida is about to get more dangerous with the legislature expected to approve open carrying of firearms.
Open carry allowances have long been restricted to hunters and fisherman.
"As an officer of the law, I wouldn't be opposed to it. I'd rather see whose got the gun and who doesn't," said veteran officer Tom Depolis, who was a deputy police chief in Tampa and chief deputy in Hillsborough County.
Depolis, who retired 10 years ago, is the exception among cops we checked with, like Detective Rick Cochran of the Tampa Police Union.
"I don't see anything good that can come of it," he said. I don't see a reason to allow people to openly carry a gun walking down the street or in the store. I don't see that making anybody comfortable."
You'll still need a permit and background check, and you still can't carry a gun, open or concealed in bars, police stations, jails, government meetings, schools or universities or school or pro-athletic events.
Yet with guns still flying off the shelves in Florida, folks in the business hope their customers will use common sense.
"It is going to make some people nervous, I think. We have a lot of people here from states where you're not allowed to have a gun, and tourists are down here all the time, so I hope that when people do start carrying openly they'll keep that in mind, and they do carry tastefully and respect everyone around them."
We met Lamecha Mingo as she was shooting her brand new Glock 40 caliber. She said she bought it for protection, and she likes the idea of carrying it in the open.
"You never know. Just in case something happens, you have that weapon there, maybe you can scare them off, use it to defend yourself," she said.
Other gun owners we talked to worry about becoming a target for bigger, worse criminals.
"If you're open carrying, you could also be the target of a criminal, somebody who knows you're the person with the weapon on you. Everybody else doesn't, maybe I go for you," said Michael Oster.
Hillsborough Sheriff David Gee says his deputies take 40 hours training in just keeping control of their weapons, and he's very concerned about the open carry law.
"Could you imagine", Gee asks, "a Gasparilla parade if only lets say five or 600 or a thousand people showed up with an open firearm, with all the drinking?"
A vote on the bills is expected in the next week or two in Tallahassee. Law enforcement lobbyists say they expect it to pass over their objections.
