Alachua County Repeals Gun Ordinances After Florida Carry Warning
Alachua County, Florida, unanimously voted to repeal or amend four local firearms provisions after Florida Carry, Inc. warned the county in July that its rules violated state law. The ordinances tried to suspend firearm sales during a state of emergency, banned guns on designated county waters, restricted carry into the county courthouse, and let courthouse signs prohibit weapons. Florida preempts gun regulation to the state, so every one of those local rules was void from the start. The county's commission finally acknowledged that fact at its September meeting. Local officials did not need a lawsuit to learn the lesson. They needed a letter.
Key Details
The nonprofit Florida Carry, Inc., which advocates for Second Amendment protections, issued the July notice. It identified four Alachua County provisions that regulated firearms in ways Florida law forbids. Florida's preemption statute bars localities from regulating firearms and declares existing local ordinances null and void. The four targeted provisions covered the following:
- Sales and transportation: limits on the sale, dispensing, and transport of firearms, including during emergencies.
- County waters: a ban on firearm use on designated county waters.
- Courthouse carry: restrictions on carrying firearms or weapons into the county courthouse.
- Courthouse signage: authority to post signs prohibiting weapons inside courthouses.
The commission approved repeals or amendments for all four by a unanimous vote. Commissioner Prizzia made the motion at the September meeting and said publicly that she was not happy to do it. She argued that home rule should let local governments write gun rules to protect residents and public servants. Kathleen Walston Pagan, a 69-year-old member of Moms Demand Action, spoke against the amendments at the same meeting. Pagan asked why gun owners did not instead join the well-regulated militia, meaning local police or the military. The commission still voted to fix the ordinances.
Background
Florida's preemption doctrine has been in place for decades, and it reflects a deliberate choice by the Legislature. Under the state's preemption statute, local governments cannot pass firearm ordinances, and officials who violate the law face removal from office and fines. That structure exists because Florida lawmakers wanted one statewide rulebook instead of a patchwork of county and city rules. Localities that ignore it invite exactly the kind of notice Florida Carry sent this summer. Advocacy groups in Florida regularly monitor local codes for preemption violations and send these letters before a dispute reaches court. The constitutional backdrop matters too. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court recognized an individual right to keep and bear arms and noted that laws banning guns in sensitive places, including government buildings, can be presumptively lawful. New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) then required that gun laws be consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation. Those rulings govern what states may do. Preemption governs what counties may do, and under Florida law the answer was nothing.
Why It Matters for Gun Owners
Florida residents in Alachua County and across the state should check local codes before assuming a rule applies. A county ordinance on paper does not equal an enforceable restriction. If you carry in Florida, the key question is what the state statute allows, not what a city or county posted on its website. Courthouse carry deserves special attention. Florida's courthouse rules are narrow, and a sign posted at a county building does not automatically carry the force of law. Ask the building's security staff directly, and cite the statute if they push back. The ruling also helps gun owners outside Florida. Many states have preemption laws of varying strength, and some have none. If you live in a state with strong preemption, look for the same pattern: a county passes a rule, a rights group sends a letter, and the rule disappears. If you live in a state with weak or no preemption, expect more local ordinances and more fights over where you can carry. Track your county commission agenda. A two-minute public comment period can matter more than a legal brief.
DownRange Analysis
Alachua County's ordinances would have failed on state-law grounds without any Second Amendment analysis at all. That is the simplest path for gun owners, and it is the path that worked here. Florida Carry did not need Bruen to win. It needed the statute and a sharp letter. Still, the constitutional question is not gone. Under Bruen, a sensitive-place restriction must find support in historical tradition, and a county with no statewide authority has even less room to argue that tradition. The sale-suspension idea collapses on both fronts. The wildlife-sanctuary and water provisions are a different story. Those rules reflect the type of local hostility that preemption exists to stop. Banning defensive firearms in areas where wildlife can pose a danger makes little sense. A gun owner who obeys the law and keeps a firearm locked in a car should not become a criminal because a county commission wanted a symbolic win. What should you do now? Check your county's ordinances against the state preemption statute, join or support a state rights organization, and attend the next commission meeting when someone proposes a gun rule. Most of these fights end when someone with a statute and a lawyer shows up.
