Nearly three months after Florida’s open-carry law took effect, 911 centers are fielding a surge in calls from residents alarmed by people carrying firearms in public — even when the behavior is legal.

Lake County dispatchers received multiple 911 calls on Sept. 25 reporting a man openly carrying what callers described as an AR-style rifle while walking near a school bus stop on Abraham’s Road. One caller told dispatchers, “I just went past someone walking toward that church there. He’s bald-headed headed and he’s got an AR.”

Under Florida’s new law, gun owners are allowed to carry firearms on public roads. The statute still prohibits openly carrying weapons on school property, in courthouses, polling places, and other restricted areas, as well as on private property where owners forbid

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