• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • A candid chat with law enforcement Explorer scouts
      Do you know your emotional intelligence?
      Addressing racism in the workplace
      Supervisory actions: Deliberate style or weak skills?
      Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • A candid chat with law enforcement Explorer scouts
        Do you know your emotional intelligence?
        Addressing racism in the workplace
        Supervisory actions: Deliberate style or weak skills?
        Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
    • Editor’s Picks
      • The future is here
        A winding road
        Do you know your emotional intelligence?
        Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
        “Hold my beer”
    • On the Job
      • Into the abyss
        A winding road
        Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
        I brought home a dog
        Six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist organizations
    • Labor
      • Differentiation in police recruitment
        Building positive media relations
        LEO labor and community outreach — make the haters scoff
        Racing with a purpose
        Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
    • Tech
      • One step closer
        New Jersey school district first to adopt AI gun detection and...
        Hawaii police harness virtual reality technology to train, secure and...
        The future is here
        How local police departments can combat cybercrime
    • Training
      • Mentorship: Ensuring future success
        Unlocking innovation
        Training dipshittery
        Police Academy 20
        Using critical thinking to crack the case
    • Policy
      • Consolidation in action
        California lawmakers push mask ban for officers, raising safety...
        Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
        California makes police misconduct records publicly available
        A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
    • Health/Wellness
      • Pink patches, powerful impact
        Time and distance
        Meditation is hard because it’s not what you think
        Life off the clock
        Self-help for anxiety
    • Community
      • Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide
        A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
        Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
        Turning over a new leaf
        Bridging the Gap Between Cops and Kids
    • Offbeat
      • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
        Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
    • We Remember
      • York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically...
        Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
        Team Romeo
        National Police Week 2025
        Honoring Fallen Heroes
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • Into the abyss
      A winding road
      Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
      I brought home a dog
      Six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist organizations
  • Labor
    • Differentiation in police recruitment
      Building positive media relations
      LEO labor and community outreach — make the haters scoff
      Racing with a purpose
      Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
  • Tech
    • One step closer
      New Jersey school district first to adopt AI gun detection and...
      Hawaii police harness virtual reality technology to train, secure and...
      The future is here
      How local police departments can combat cybercrime
  • Training
    • Mentorship: Ensuring future success
      Unlocking innovation
      Training dipshittery
      Police Academy 20
      Using critical thinking to crack the case
  • Policy
    • Consolidation in action
      California lawmakers push mask ban for officers, raising safety...
      Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
      California makes police misconduct records publicly available
      A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
  • Health/Wellness
    • Pink patches, powerful impact
      Time and distance
      Meditation is hard because it’s not what you think
      Life off the clock
      Self-help for anxiety
  • Community
    • Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide
      A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
      Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
      Turning over a new leaf
      Bridging the Gap Between Cops and Kids
  • Offbeat
    • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
      Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
  • We Remember
    • York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically...
      Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
      Team Romeo
      National Police Week 2025
      Honoring Fallen Heroes
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

Policy

Opposing POVs on permit-less carry

Florida bill divides law enforcement community

APB Team Published March 19, 2023 @ 6:00 am PDT

iStock.com/koi88

One of the first bills introduced in the most recent Florida state legislative session has drawn sharp opinions on both sides. If passed, HB 543 would allow Floridians to carry concealed legally licensed firearms without permits. Currently, citizens must finish firearms training and clear a background check before being granted a concealed carry permit. It would not change who can legally possess guns and still empowers businesses to prohibit weapons on their premises. Law enforcement leaders in the state, however, have expressed varying thoughts on the bill.

Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis, president of the Florida Sheriffs Association, has shown public support for the legislation along with his predecessor Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.

“I think we can assume that our citizens are going to do the right thing when it comes to carrying and bearing arms,” Nienhuis said at a news conference announcing the legislation in late January.

“It doesn’t mean that it’s going to allow people to get their hands on guns who shouldn’t,” Gualtieri told the Tampa Bay Times. Rather, he added, the bill removes barriers for responsible gun owners.

“My concern is that with more guns on the street, there may be a greater potential for simple arguments to escalate to gun violence. If you have to take a driver’s license test/course before you can operate a vehicle on our roadways, why wouldn’t you want someone to prove that they, at least, have a working knowledge of a dangerous weapon,” countered St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway in an email to the newspaper.

Data regarding the impact of permit-less carry laws is inconsistent and in short supply. 

“The people who get permits or licenses to carry tend to be in a pretty law-abiding group, but what we’re finding is that as gun-carrying gets deregulated and more people are doing it, a lot more guns are being stolen, particularly from motor vehicles,” Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy, told NBC News.

HB 543 continues to work its way through the legislative process, and by most public reporting, Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the bill into law if it reaches his desk. 

As seen in the March 2023 issue of American Police Beat magazine.
Don’t miss out on another issue today! Click below:

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Categories: Policy

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • One step closer
  • Mentorship: Ensuring future success
  • Differentiation in police recruitment
  • Unlocking innovation
  • Into the abyss
  • Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide
  • Pink patches, powerful impact
  • NLEOMF thanks supporters for a successful Police Weekend
  • Training dipshittery
  • Time and distance

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The future is here

The future is here

August 21, 2025

A winding road

A winding road

August 20, 2025

Do you know your emotional intelligence?

Do you know your emotional intelligence?

August 17, 2025

Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding

Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding

August 11, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.