Even as DeSantis pushed the proposal ahead of his expected bid for president, public polling on the issue has shown it to be widely unpopular with both political parties. Last month, a poll conducted by the University of North Florida showed 77% of the 1,492 respondents were somewhat or strongly opposed to the permitless carry legislation, a number that included 62% of Republicans.
“Not only is there bipartisan opposition to this ‘constitutional carry’ bill, but folks seem to feel passionately about it with the majority (67%) saying they strongly oppose the bill,” Michael Binder, the director of the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Laboratory, said when the poll was released. “Even among Republicans, most people are against carrying weapons without a permit.”
The White House also weighed in Monday with a statement saying what DeSantis did was "shameful."
"It is shameful that so soon after another tragic school shooting, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a permitless concealed carry bill behind closed doors, which eliminates the need to get a license to carry a concealed weapon," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
The legislation, which passed the state House and Senate on mostly party-line votes, got pushback on both sides of the political spectrum. While Democrats framed the proposal as dangerous and said it would increase gun violence, ardent Second Amendment rights supporters pushed the Legislature to include a provision that would allow people to openly carry firearms.
DeSantis had said he would support open-carry legislation but did not advocate for it as forcefully as he has on other issues. During lengthy committee hearings on the bill, Second Amendment groups lined up and blasted Republican lawmakers for not including the open-carry provision, criticism DeSantis was not immune from.
“If the governor cannot get a very friendly Legislature to add open carry to this bill, then how do we think he will try to convince Congress to act on anything if he were to become president?” Matt Collins, an open-carry supporter, told a Florida Senate committee last month. “If open carry isn’t added to this bill, it shows political impotence on the part of Gov. DeSantis.”
