So, you have your Florida Concealed Weapon or Firearm License (CWFL) and you know that Florida preempts all firearms laws throughout the state so that you don't accidentally break some ridiculous local ordinance and end up in the hoosegow for carrying your  weapon.  You have a license from the state and we fought hard to make preemption enforceable last legislative session!

Well, you are half right.  Your pistol won't get you in trouble but your pocket knife could put you away for a MINIMUM of six months, cost you a cool grand, and yeah... they'll take your knife too.

But wait!  I have a license from the state to carry that!  Yep you do, but not from Miami-Dade County and your assisted opening pocket knife just violated their laws.

Sec. 21-14. - Dangerous weapons; penalty; trial court.

(a) Concealed dangerous weapons. It shall be unlawful for any person to wear under his clothes, or concealed about his person, or to display in a threatening manner any dangerous or deadly weapon including, but not by way of limitation, any pistol, revolver, slingshot, cross-knuckles or knuckles of lead, brass or other metal, or any bowie knife, razor, dirk, dagger, or any knife resembling a bowie knife, or any other dangerous or deadly weapon, except as hereinafter provided.

(b) Switch blades. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, offer to sell, display, use, possess or carry any knife or knives having the appearance of a pocket knife, the blade or blades of which can be opened by a flick of a button, pressure on the handle, or other mechanical contrivance. Any such knife is hereby declared to be a dangerous or deadly weapon, within the meaning of subsection (a) and shall be subject to forfeiture to the County as provided by subsection (c).

...

(e) Penalty. Every person who is convicted for a violation of subsection (a) shall for first conviction thereof be punished by imprisonment for not less than six (6) months and by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00); for a second or subsequent conviction of a violation of subsection (a) such person shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one (1) year and by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).

Come on, nobody gets arrested for a pocket knife!   Pulino's chef Nate Appleman arrested for pocket knife.

There were even bills in the 2012 Florida legislature to ban common pocketknives from university campuses.  HB179 and SB356.  See here for a satirical look at the: "Bill to Stop Dangerous Cubs Scouts and ROTC Who Terrorize Schools and Colleges"

These Florida pocketknife charges still go all the way to the US Supreme Court ever after the Florida Supreme Court said that folding knives with a blade length of 4" or less are common pocket knives.  See Bunkley v. Florida, 538 US 835 - Supreme Court (2003)

This gives us a bad mix of a patchwork of local laws and people thinking that they have a license that lets them carry the weapons, that the license is good for, statewide.  We need a preemption statute to cover our other carry weapons and knives.

West Palm Beach is now banning all knives and weapons except firearms from its library and City Hall.

Ft. Lauderdale has adopted new ordinances to ban knives and other weapons that may commonly be carried at outdoor events like parades and local festivals.

"The city (Ft. Lauderdale), in response to the new state law, changed a local ordinance that forbids weapons at parades and local events. Now, guns are allowed but knives are not."

Florida Carry had just started kicking around language for a bill when out of the blue, Florida Carry Board Member Richard Smith ran smack in to our friends at Knife Rights.  They just passed knife preemption in Arizona and are looking for help the rest of the states.

It's time open the second front in the fight to protect your Second Amendment Rights in Florida!

October 24, 2011 - HB 179 Withdrawn

House Bill 179, Possession of Weapons on School Property, was withdrawn today prior to introduction by its sponsor, Rep. Ari Porth (D-Coral Springs). The bill would have criminalized of common pocketknives at school sponsored events, on school property, school buses, or at a school bus stop. Incredible as it seems, a boy scout found in posession of an official Boy Scout pocketknife would have been charged with a THIRD DEGREE FELONY under the ill-conceived bill.

In an over-zealous crusade against the tool, rather than the misuse of it, Rep. Porth was willing to destroy the future of children, parents, faculty, and staff. This is simply unforgiveable. What's next? Nail clippers?

Florida Carry and its membership, in close association with KnifeRights.org, takes great pride in leading the charge to get this bill squashed before it created unknowing felons out of the very cream of American youth, the Boy Scouts. 

Florida Carry Sues Over University Parking Lot Gun Ban

Florida Carry, Inc. has filed a lawsuit against the University of North Florida (UNF), seeking a permanent injunction against enforcement or promulgation of its unlawful ban on firearms and weapons that are properly stored in student's private automobiles. We also seek a court order to repeal their unlawful regulations and remove all preempted signs/publications. Since 1987 the Florida Legislature has preempted firearms law and issued statewide licenses to carry for self-defense.

Florida Carry filed this case on behalf of Florida Gun Owners and our members. One such member, Alexandria Lainez, is a single mother who has received extensive training in firearms and self-defense to be prepared to protect herself and her young child should that horrible need arise. Alexandria is a full time student at UNF and worries that she has to choose between her family's safety and her education on a daily basis while attending college.

No public college or university has any authority to prevent students from having a firearm in their car as long as the firearm is lawfully possessed under state law. Any public college or university which attempts to restrict students’ rights on this issue is subject to being sued under Florida Firearms Preemption law which was amended in 2011 to make the then 24 year-old statute easier to enforce by organizations like Florida Carry.

Docket Overview: Lower Court Case Number: 2011-CA-08012
Duval County Clerk of the Circuit Court

Lower Court Filings: 

10/03/2011 Plaintiffs' Original Complaint 
11/10/2011 Plaintiffs' Motion for Temporary Injunction 
12/15/2011 Defendants' Motion to Dismiss 
01/04/2012 Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint 
01/25/2012 Defendants' Second Motion to Dismiss 
01/27/2012 Defendants' Memo of Law Opposing Temporary Injunction 
03/21/2012 Plaintiffs' Notice of Priority Case & Motion for Ruling 
03/22/2012 Order Denying Temp. Injunction 
03/26/2012 Plaintiffs' Memo of Law Opposing Motion to Dismiss 
04/03/2012 Final Order Granting Motion to Dismiss
04/26/2012 Plaintiffs' Notice of Appeal

Docket Overview: Appellate Court Case Number:  1D12-2174
Florida First District Court of Appeal Docket

Appellate Court Filings:

04/27/2012 Plaintiffs' Notice of Appeal

44 States allow lawful carry of firearms in the common terminal and baggage claim areas of airports.  There are federal laws that restrict firearms, knives, and other weapons in the "sterile area" beyond the security checkpoint but the unsecured areas of the terminal are subject to state law.

Florida, and only five other states, make the entire airport terminal off limits even to carry license holders while armed.   The US Supreme Court made it clear in DC v. Heller (2008) that Americans have the right to "carry weapons in case of confrontation," but this right can be restricted "in sensitive places".

The Federal government has determined that the "sterile area" is the "sensitive place" at an airport but Florida has gone much farther and banned even licensed carry inside the entire terminal, on this topic Florida is one of the most restrictive places in the country.

This has lead to confusion in the past even outside the terminal.  In one case a lawful concealed carry licensee had his firearm become accidentally exposed while helping to unload luggage for someone who he was dropping off at the airport.  Airport police overreacted and he ended up cuffed on the sidewalk outside until the officers realized their mistake.

These incidents don't happen in the states where the limit on carry is clearly defined as in the "sterile area".