Florida House Republicans have revived the effort to allow guns in church.
Reps. Jayer Williamson of Pace and Cord Byrd of Neptune Beach filed such a bill on Thursday in an effort to promote the safety of religious institutions.
Joining them so far are Reps. Tom Gregory of Sarasota, Fred Hawkins of St. Cloud, Spencer Roach of North Fort Myers, and Clay Yarborough of Jacksonville.
The bill would add one paragraph to Florida’s concealed-carry law.
It states: “Notwithstanding any other law, for the purposes of safety, security, personal protection, or any other lawful purpose, a person licensed under this section to carry a concealed weapon or firearm may carry a firearm on property owned, rented, leased, borrowed, or lawfully used by a church, a synagogue, or any other religious institution unless the church, synagogue, or other religious institution has a posted policy specifically prohibiting persons who are lawfully licensed under this section from carrying a firearm on such property.”
Pro-gun rights Republicans have attempted to get a similar bill through the Legislature for the past few years.
Williamson, in fact, sponsored such a measure last year.
It died awaiting a final vote on the House floor.
Under existing state law, concealed-carry permitholders can bring their firearms to services – that is, if the church allows it.
Schools have been the stumbling block to make that effective at all religious institutions.
State law prohibits carrying firearms on campuses at all levels, even with a concealed-carry permit. That includes school properties located on church grounds, even those churches or other religious institutions that may want to allow concealed-carry license holders to bring their guns.
In 2020, one of the objections to Williamson’s bill was that it would force public schools that allow churches to use their facilities to also allow guns.
This year’s version authorizes landlords to reject guns, if they so choose.