{"id":263046,"date":"2026-05-08T04:46:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T04:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/263046\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T04:46:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T04:46:12","slug":"florida-publix-stores-will-no-longer-allow-shoppers-to-open-carry-firearms-some-are-threatening-to-boycott","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/263046\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Publix stores will no longer allow shoppers to open carry firearms. Some are threatening to boycott"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Evening<\/p>\n

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the US<\/p>\n

\"Evening<\/p>\n

For months, Publix<\/a> stores in Florida<\/a> allowed customers to openly carry firearms,<\/a> but that has changed in a move that is drawing backlash from some gun rights supporters.<\/p>\n

The retailer quietly updated its firearms policy in Florida, and now asks that only law enforcement officers openly carry guns while shopping, the Sun Sentinel reports. <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPublix kindly asks that only law enforcement openly carry firearms in our stores,\u201d according to a statement posted <\/a>on Publix\u2019s customer service FAQ page on their website. <\/p>\n

The shift comes just months after Florida<\/a> became an open carry state in September, when an appeals court struck down the state\u2019s ban on openly carrying firearms as unconstitutional. While the new law allows open carry, private businesses still have the right to prohibit it on their property.<\/p>\n

After the law changed, Publix became one of the first major retailers in Florida <\/a>to allow customers to openly carry firearms inside stores. Other chains, including Walmart and Target, <\/a>continued policies discouraging or banning the practice. Publix has not publicly explained what prompted the recent reversal.<\/p>\n

\"PublixPublix has quietly updated its firearms policy in Florida stores, now asking that only law enforcement officers openly carry guns while shopping (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In October, <\/a>Publix spokesperson Lindsey Willis provided a statement to the Sun Sentinel after the law took effect, saying: \u201cAs of Sept. 25, 2025, Florida law allows the open carry of firearms. Publix follows all federal, state and local laws. Treating customers with dignity and respect is a founding belief at Publix.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willis added at the time, \u201cIn any instance where a customer creates a threatening, erratic or dangerous shopping experience \u2014 whether they are openly carrying a firearm or not \u2014 we will engage local law enforcement to protect our customers and associates.\u201d<\/p>\n

That decision drew mixed reactions from customers at the time. And now, the updated policy is once again dividing shoppers.<\/p>\n

Julio Gonzalez of Cape Coral told Gulf Coast News Now<\/a>, \u201cBasically, I don\u2019t feel safe with that decision. We need to protect, and that is the only reason we carry a gun, not to intimidate, not to do anything wrong, it\u2019s just to protect the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

James Vargas, also from Cape Coral, added: \u201cI think it\u2019s our constitutional right to be able to bear arms. I think we should be able to carry our firearms anyplace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t care,\u201d one woman wrote on X. \u201cI wear mine and nobody knows that a 70 yo woman will be the one who will take a bad actor down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others supported the change.<\/p>\n

Simon Aguilar of North Fort Myers said, \u201cI don\u2019t want my kids walking around a store seeing people brandishing firearms. Throw a shirt over it. I don\u2019t see an issue with being protective of yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe shift on the policy comes just months after Florida became an open carry state in September, when an appeals court struck down the state\u2019s ban on openly carrying firearms as unconstitutional (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

The Independent has reached out to Publix and the NRA for comment. <\/p>\n

Publix\u2019s updated policy does not prohibit customers from carrying concealed firearms.<\/p>\n

Aguilar also urged gun owners to consider how visible firearms affect others in public spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe mindful of other people in the community for sure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Under Florida\u2019s law, open carry remains prohibited for people under 21 and those with felony convictions. Businesses also retain the authority to set their own firearms policies on private property.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263047,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9230,28,30,29,16783,3985,7642,99,4571,113499,6437],"class_list":["post-263046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-demonstration","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-horizontal","tag-justice","tag-michigan","tag-politics","tag-united-states","tag-weaponry","tag-weapons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}