DeSantis launches gun and ammo tax holiday, pushes for open carry despite GOP resistance

PLANT CITY, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis has rolled out Florida’s first-ever Second Amendment sales tax holiday, exempting firearms, ammunition, and outdoor gear from sales tax through the end of 2025.

The move marks a new chapter in Florida’s gun policy, as the governor simultaneously pressed lawmakers to go further in weakening restrictions.

WATCH: DeSantis pushes for open carry while announcing sales tax holiday

“Today, I’m proud to announce the beginning of our Second Amendment sales tax holiday,” DeSantis said at a Plant City press conference. “That is a big deal for a lot of people.”

The holiday — which runs from Sept. 8 through Dec. 31 — applies to pistols, rifles, shotguns, bows, crossbows, holsters, optics, cleaning kits, tents, rods, reels, and other hunting and camping supplies.

DeSantis Presses for Open Carry

While celebrating the tax break, DeSantis also revived a push for open carry, a policy that has stalled in Tallahassee despite Republican supermajorities.

“We’ve got almost a three-to-one majority in the Florida House of Representatives. Thirty-eight states have open carry,” DeSantis said. “It’s not something that’s controversial. The sky isn’t falling on any of those. Why not pass that out of the Florida House of Representatives? … They should just follow through, and I think they should do what they promised the voters they would do.”

Lt. Gov. Jay Collins echoed the message: “We should be an open carry state… we’ll continue to fight for those freedoms and those rights each and every day until we get them all back.”

State

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But top Republicans have signaled reluctance. Senate President Ben Albritton in March argued open carry could damage Florida’s image:

“The way I view it, there is no real distinction between being able to carry concealed without a permit and being able to carry openly. If you legally can carry in Florida, you can do it. You just have to have it in a concealed way. To me, that is essentially the same,” Albritton said. “Florida is a very diverse state… how that would be accepted, how society would accept [open carry], would vary widely across the state. And then lastly, we’re a tourism state, and that matters.”

Legal Perspective: 'Trial Run' for Tax Holiday

Attorney Kirk Evans, president of U.S. Law Shield, believes the tax holiday is a national first.

“I believe Florida is the first one to do a complete no-sales tax on guns and ammo,” he said. “It’s a great benefit for hunters, outdoorsmen, sportsmen, folks who like guns.”

But Evans emphasized the exemption is temporary: “This is a specific statute that will only apply this year… it’s not something that’s just going to be easy to do every year. I think the appetite [to make it permanent] would be phenomenal, but obviously there was some back-and-forth negotiation, and they said, let’s try it this year and see what happens.”

He also cautioned new buyers that Florida’s current permitless carry law doesn’t remove legal responsibilities.

“All the new folks who might run out and this will be their first time might hear the term constitutional carry and assume that means they can carry whenever, wherever, however they want, and there’s a lot more to it than that.”

Democrats Warn of Backsliding After FSU Shooting

The announcement comes just months after a deadly Florida State University shooting left two dead and students scrambling for safety in classrooms without locking doors.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the FSU family, but my faith tells me that I am not to pray and then do nothing,” said House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa), in April. “Protecting these young people means listening to them… and figuring out what they need. The least we owe them is to stop going in the wrong direction.”

Students who lived through the shooting demanded stronger safety measures and stricter gun laws. Freshman Madalyn Probst said, “Poor policy enabled this tragedy… two people are dead who shouldn’t be, six people in the hospital who shouldn’t be, thousands of students who no longer feel safe on campus.”

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Democrats argue Florida should strengthen safe storage laws, expand red flag protections, and keep the rifle purchase age at 21, rather than weakening restrictions.

What’s Next

DeSantis is signaling he’ll continue to make gun rights a priority heading into 2026.

“We want to continue to reduce costs for our families so that they can enjoy the great outdoors,” he said, adding that he would sign open carry if it reached his desk.

The debate now shifts back to the Republican-controlled Legislature, where leaders — caught between DeSantis’ demands and tourism, business, and public safety concerns — will decide whether Florida goes further down the path of loosening gun restrictions.