JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — New gun laws are coming to Florida.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law this week allowing gun owners to carry a concealed weapon without training, license or additional background checks.
A viewer messaged us saying it's illegal to carry a gun without a permit within 1000 feet of a school.
THE QUESTION
Is is still illegal to carry a gun without a license within 1000 feet of a Florida school?
THE SOURCES
Florida House Bill 543
The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990
Defense Attorney Lee Lockett
THE ANSWER
Yes, it still illegal to carry a gun without a license within 1000 feet of a Florida school.
WHAT WE FOUND
"School properties, and areas, those remain on the 'don't carry' list so to speak," said Lockett.
Under Florida's new constitutional carry bill, it's still illegal to willingly and knowingly bring a gun onto a school campus.
Without a license to carry it's a felony. With a license, it's a misdemeanor.
It's also a felony to use a gun in a "rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner" within 1000 feet of a school campus -- license or no license.
However, that's just state law.
According to the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 , it's a felony for anyone without a license to have a loaded gun within a thousand feet of a school.
Violating that law carries up to a $5000 fine and 5 years of prison time.
Lockett said federal agents don't often enforce federal law when there are state laws to the contrary.
He used California as an example, where recreational marijuana is allowed by state law but illegal according to federal law, pointing out that federal law isn't enforced there.
Aside from schools, there are a number of places you are still not allowed to carry a concealed weapon including jails, courthouses, airports or bars.