GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - An appeals court ruled that Florida’s ban on open carrying firearms is unconstitutional, forcing law enforcement agencies across the state to change policies on firearm arrests.

Law enforcement agencies around North Central Florida are offering new guidance to their departments now that the ban on open carry has been ruled unconstitutional .

Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith, a supporter of open carry, has a message for those concerned about more guns appearing in public.

“If you are scared or in fear, nothing stops you from making that phone call and letting us check it out,” said Smith. “I’d rather it be nothing than you not call and it be something. So, nothing stops us, business as usual, from what we do. There are going to be people after this ruling

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