Gov. DeSantis preempts any firearm sale restrictions during Milton

When Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for Hurricane Milton, he added a provision making clear that cities cannot stop gun sales. The unprecedented move came after a South Florida city unintentionally included such restrictions in an emergency order last month.

Okeechobee Mayor Dowling Watford stressed that the small town had its order, which prompted outrage by gun rights groups, in place for only about four hours. The order related to Hurricane Helene, which ultimately tore chiefly through North Florida. Indeed, Okeechobee in 2020 passed a resolution declaring itself a Second Amendment Sanctuary City.

“We took it down as soon as we realized our mistake,” he said. “It was never, ever, ever enforced, nor would it be enforced.”

Still, the inclusion prompted several activists to attend city meetings and call the Governor’s Office. The Firearms Policy Coalition on its social media said members called DeSantis’ Office about the order.

“Not only was this local declaration illegal and unconstitutional, we were told that as soon as the Governor’s office was aware they directed the Police Chief to rescind the order,” reads a post on X.

Indeed, the next time DeSantis’ Office issued an executive order, ahead of Milton, it included language preventing either state or local officials from putting such restrictions in place because of the storm.

“The State Coordinating Officer shall not have the authority to suspend or limit the sale, dispensing, or transportation of firearms,” the executive order reads.

The Governor’s Office has not answered questions why such a preemption appeared necessary to include, but in a weekend press release announcing the order, his team asked for press outlets to note the provision in reporting

Matt Collins, a gun rights advocate and lobbyist, said it was important to make clear that a hurricane does not preempt constitutional rights. Asked why gun rights groups needed to mobilize over the Okeechobee order, he said: “To nip it in the bud, set an example, and make sure other municipalities knew that violating the 2nd Amendment was unacceptable, even if ‘by mistake.’”

Watford said the only reason the language made it into the recent emergency order was that it was modeled off an order dating back to 2004.

State law allows for the restriction of gun sales during emergencies, but only if they are called because of riots or civil unrest.

That means if anyone wants to restrict the firearms trade in the event of looting after the storm, it must wait to see if DeSantis lifts the preemption in the current executive order.