ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — WPTV is learning what open carry enforcement will look like locally.
Reporter Tyler Hatfield listened to St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro, as well as a community leader who's concerned about the reversal of the ban.
WATCH: Sheriff says Florida will join 46 other states that allow open carry in some form
Port St. Lucie gun owner Robert Seek said he's open to the open carry.
“If you know your weapon, I don’t have a problem with people carrying it,” said Seek.
Seek said he believes lawful gun owners who open carry firearms will deter criminals.
“If a guy walks into a store to rob it with one gun, and there’s five guys carrying guns, he’s going to be thinking about it again, he’s not going to rob the place,” said Seek.
However some neighbors like Gianna Scharf aren’t in favor of open carry.
“A little bit uncomfortable,” said Scharf. “Seeing it makes me feel like, I should be worried or kind of protective. It's something I would rather not see."
State
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St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro said Florida will join 46 other states that allow open carry in some form.
“Other states have adapted,” said Sheriff Del Toro. “I don't think it's going to be as big a change as everybody makes it out to be.”
Sheriff Del Toro said open carry is allowed in unrestricted areas like parks and government property. But he wants gun owners to be aware of the rules for private property.
“If they have it where there's no open carry allowed, they can still restrict that, and gun owners need to be mindful of those rules,” said Sheriff Del Toro. “Because if they refuse to leave, and we get called there, that could be an armed trespassing, which is a felony.”
State
Florida appeals court strikes down state's open carry ban
WPTV listened to Ricky Aiken, executive director of Inner City Innovators, a community violence intervention agency.
He said he believes more guns seen in the open will push communities suffering from gun violence to have more guns.
“I would say I’m discouraged,” said Aiken. “It's going to make our job a lot harder, because it reinforces a general distrust in humanity that we work as hard as we can to kind of weed out.”
While gun owner Seek is for open carry, he said it’s imperative to be a responsible gun owner.
“If you’re trained in it and know what you're doing with it, we’re not a threat,” said Seek.
