WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida residents are sharing their thoughts about the new gun law that was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday.
Protecting the Second Amendment through permitless carry has its pros and cons.
Alex Shkop, the owner of Guns and Range Training Center in West Palm Beach, said he sees the good that can come from the new law.
RELATED: What does permitless carry mean for Florida residents?
"The good side," Shkop said, "is it kind of streamlines the process, and if a person is well versed and doesn't require a concealed permit, like ex-military guys, ex-law enforcement, they can obtain the concealed permit. But it's still bureaucracy. They have to go somewhere. They have to pay something."
Others aren't warming up too much to the new legislation, like Ricky Aiken of Inner City Innovators, a youth delinquency and gun violence prevention agency in Palm Beach County. Aiken, a legal gun owner himself, doesn't support the new law.
"I think this signing into law is idiotic, counterintuitive," Aiken said, "and it's a harsh statement to the other communities that have already been disproportionately impacted by gun violence."
According to the language in the bill, the new law will allow anyone who can legally own a gun in Florida to concealed carry without a permit, background check or a training requirement.
"That's the kind of beautiful part about it," Shkop said, "that now almost anybody can go and obtain a firearm. The downside is the people that don't know much, don't understand what they don't know, will assume that they do."
It's important to note that a background check and a three-day waiting period will still be required when purchasing a firearm from a licensed dealer. The same doesn't apply for public sales or exchanges of guns.
Both Shkop and Aiken agree knowledge is power when it comes to gun ownership and training courses.
"I am a responsible gun owner," Aiken said. "The process isn't that hard of a process to begin with, so to kind of take that off the table, I don't see a need for it."
"That's what I'm kind of worried about, that people will train less and without realizing they need to without realizing how much they don't know," Shkop added. "That's the only kind of downside I see."
The new law takes effect July 1.
