On Monday, March 9th, 2026, a lawsuit was filed against Bradford County and the Bradford County Fair Association Inc for restricting Open Carry on public property.
Since the appellate court’s September decision that found Florida’s Open Carry Ban unconstitutional, this lawsuit marks a crucial step in defending our rights and should inspire communities across Florida to stay engaged.
After the decision, Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that the right to open carry will now be the law of the state and told localities to follow the court’s decision.
According to the lawsuit, attorney Anthony Sabatini, representing Chris Rose, claims that Bradford County Fair Association and Bradford County have no authority to ban open carry under 790.33 of the Florida Statutes.
Statute 790.33, also known as Florida’s State Preemption, “excludes all county, city, town, municipal, or administrative laws or regulations dealing with the whole field of regulation in dealing with the sale, possession, manufacture, transfer, ownership, storage, transportation, and taxation of firearms.”
Which means Bradford County does not have the authority to regulate the possession of Firearms like they are trying to do in this instance.
The second aspect of the lawsuit points out that the Bradford County Fair Association is, in fact, a state entity.
Sabatini, in his lawsuit, points to numerous statutes that prove the Fair Association is not a private company and has no legal right to violate Florida’s preemption law.
Sabatini points out that the fairgrounds are public property owned and run by the county, and the Fair Association is a government entity according to State Statutes 616.07.
According to the lawsuit, a Bradford County Sheriff’s deputy specifically told Chris Rose, the plaintiff, that open carry was banned.
Florida Gun Rights fought against open carry restrictions even before the court’s ruling. And if this local ban is allowed to stand without opposition, it could spread like wildfire to the rest of Florida.
It should also be remembered that this lawsuit should not have been necessary after the courts legalized open carry across the state.
With that understanding, Florida Gun Rights encourages members to stay engaged and continue pressing for legislative changes to fully protect our Second Amendment rights, knowing legal action is a vital part of this effort.
Florida Gun Rights will continue to monitor this lawsuit and will keep everyone informed.
