Republican Gov. Rob DeSantis last week said he intends to sign a permitless carry bill into law while in office, over the howls of Florida's only Democrat elected to public office. 

DeSantis made the announcement as part of a press conference on Friday, noting that, while lawmakers may not have a successful bill queued up for his signature yet, he thinks they will in the coming months. 

"I can’t tell you exactly when, but I’m pretty confident that I will be able to sign ‘constitutional carry’ into law in the state of Florida," DeSantis said. "The Legislature will get it done. I can’t tell you if it’s going to be next week, six months, but I can tell you that before I am done as governor, we will have a signature on that bill."

The governor also called out Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat, who oversees the Sunshine State's massive concealed carry permitting program, one that has been around for generations and has millions of holders, both in Florida and across the country. Fried, who was backed for office by billionaire anti-gun crusader Michael Bloomberg's Everytown group, has made news in recent months by suspending the permits of those in her database accused of taking part in the J6 event at the U.S. Capitol. She has also been characterized as slow-walking new permits and permit renewals during the COVID outbreak even though Florida was by and large "open for business" during the pandemic. 

"We used to be a leader on the Second Amendment," said DeSantis. "There’s like 25 states that have already done [permitless carry], and I think if you look now, you have a situation where the official in charge of these permits doesn't support Second Amendment rights. So why would you want to subcontract your constitutional rights to a public official who rejects the very existence of those rights?”  

In direct response to DeSantis, Fried issued a Friday afternoon statement from her office, saying she had suspended more permits and slamming the Governor's promise as "absurd political pandering." 

Banner image: Walther CCP 9mm pistol. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

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