Can Sarasota area stores ban guns? What to know about open carry law

Florida’s open carry ruling, which expands gun rights in public , took effect Sept. 25 — but Sarasota and Manatee businesses can still bar firearms.

On Sept. 10, Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that the state’s long-standing ban on visibly carrying firearms in public is unconstitutional . The decision comes despite research linking looser gun laws to higher rates of violent crime , suicides, firearm thefts and law enforcement shootings.