Shutts & Bowen LLP West Palm Beach partner Elizabeth Jones, a member of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group, recently contributed to a Bisnow article discussing how Florida’s new open carry ruling is prompting property owners and tenants to take a closer look at their firearms policies.
The article titled “Property Owners Caught in the Middle of Florida’s New Open-Carry Law,” explains that after a Florida appeals court struck down the state’s ban on open carry of firearms, property owners and businesses across the state are facing new decisions on how to respond. The ruling, effective September 25, allows anyone legally owning a gun, including rifles, to carry it openly or partially concealed in public. While the law gives private property owners and tenants the right to prohibit guns on their premises, many are unsure how to proceed. Property managers worry about alienating gun-owning customers in a state with high firearm ownership rates, while others prefer to wait and see how the new law plays out.
Elizabeth notes that businesses that fail to set clear policies are effectively permitting open carry. As the legal environment evolves, clear and consistent policies are becoming more important than ever. She shares that “premises liability is a very complicated area of law,”— property owners might face lawsuits whether they allow guns or prohibit them but fail to enforce the rule. Every property or business owner has the right to prohibit or allow weapons on their property, which was also the case with concealed carry. Elizabeth points out that an exception exists that prohibits certain property owners from banning a legal carrier from having a locked firearm in their private vehicle in a parking lot where such legal carrier is lawfully in such area.
For now, property managers are balancing safety concerns, customer comfort, and potential legal risks, with many hoping that Florida’s shift to open carry will not lead to major incidents.
To read the full article, please click here. (subscription required)
About Elizabeth M. Jones
Elizabeth M. Jones is a partner in the West Palm Beach office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, where she is a member of the Real Estate Practice Group. Elizabeth has significant experience in a wide range of Florida real estate issues, including the acquisition, disposition, leasing, financing, entitlement, and development of all types of commercial property, including office buildings, retail centers, industrial, and mixed-use developments. She also represents home and apartment builders in the acquisition and development of land.