Open carry now allowed at Publix locations in Florida
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Publix will allow customers to openly carry firearms. Photo: Joe Raedle via Getty Images
Publix customers can now openly carry firearms in stores across the state.
Why it matters: The company, Florida's largest grocery store chain, is one of the first major corporations to embrace open carry following an appeals court ruling last month that deemed a state ban on it unconstitutional.
- Other chains, including Winn-Dixie, Walmart and Sam's Club, will continue to prohibit open carry, according to the Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel, which first reported on the policies.
The latest: In a statement to Axios on Wednesday, a Publix spokesperson said the company follows federal, state and local laws.
- Publix allows store managers to determine "if a customer is creating a threatening, erratic or dangerous shopping experience," regardless of whether they are openly carrying a firearm, and whether to involve law enforcement.
Catch up quick: Last month, the Florida First District Court of Appeal ruled the state's nearly 40-year-old law banning openly carrying firearms was unconstitutional.
Between the lines: The law allows for businesses and private property owners to opt out, meaning they can still prohibit people from entering if they are armed.
- Representatives of Publix did not respond to a question asking why the company decided to opt into open carry.
- The law applies only to people who are legally allowed to buy or possess a firearm.
The intrigue: The Sentinel and Sun Sentinel contacted a dozen Publix stores across South and Central Florida to confirm the company's policy, including two in Miami-Dade.
- A manager at a Homestead store told the outlet open carry was allowed "as long as it's not causing a disturbance."
On Wednesday, Axios reporters contacted several other stores and were in most cases told to contact Publix corporate.
- But two stores in Hillsborough County confirmed open carry would be allowed.
What's next: The U.S. Supreme Court last week agreed to hear a challenge to a Hawaii law that prohibits carrying a firearm on private property without the owner's permission, even with a concealed carry permit, per SCOTUSblog.
Axios' Tampa Bay reporter Yacob Reyes contributed to this report.