Pointless No Gun Signs - Can You Carry In Florida Airports?

KimberPB

New member
I had to pick up some friends from the St. Petersburg/Clearwater airport over the weekend and on my way into meet them I noticed that every door had a no gun sign under Fl. statute 790.01. I didn't know that statute off hand but I do know that in the state of Florida it is not illegal for me carry in the non-sterile part of the airport. So I just went in and waited for my friends. After I got home I was curious what that statute said so I looked it up. Within the first to lines it said that anyone with a valid concealed carry permit was exempt from that section.

So basically if you are legal to carry you can still carry and if you're not legal to carry you could not carry there even if it was not posted. Oh well, I guess it might make some people feel better but the sign is pointless. :to_pick_ones_nose:
 

Yea, I remember looking this up when I first moved here.
 
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Yea, I remember looking this up when I first moved here.

Ya I don't remember seeing any signs at the Tampa airport last week when I was there. That's why I was a little suprised to see them posted at the St. Petersburg/Clearwater airport.
 
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Ya I don't remember seeing any signs at the Tampa airport last week when I was there. That's why I was a little suprised to see them posted at the St. Petersburg/Clearwater airport.

I don't think I've seen any signs there either.
 
I don't know who told you it was legal to carry in an airport in Florida; here's the DOACS page on prohibited areas.

The actual statute is FL Statute 790.06 (12), the relevant section being;

(12) No license issued pursuant to this section shall authorize any person to carry a concealed weapon or firearm into any place of nuisance as defined in s. 823.05; any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station; any detention facility, prison, or jail; any courthouse; any courtroom, except that nothing in this section would preclude a judge from carrying a concealed weapon or determining who will carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom; any polling place; any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special district; any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof; any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms; any school administration building; any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion of the establishment is primarily devoted to such purpose; any elementary or secondary school facility; any career center; any college or university facility unless the licensee is a registered student, employee, or faculty member of such college or university and the weapon is a stun gun or nonlethal electric weapon or device designed solely for defensive purposes and the weapon does not fire a dart or projectile; inside the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport, provided that no person shall be prohibited from carrying any legal firearm into the terminal, which firearm is encased for shipment for purposes of checking such firearm as baggage to be lawfully transported on any aircraft; or any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law. Any person who willfully violates any provision of this subsection commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.​

Once you're inside the doors to the terminal, sterile area or not you're in a prohibited area. It use to be legal in Florida, it was repealed a few years ago.

A few shall issue States prohibit airport carry; AR, FL, ND, NV (concealed only prohibited), OH, OK and VA.
 
I don't know who told you it was legal to carry in an airport in Florida; here's the DOACS page on prohibited areas.

The actual statute is FL Statute 790.06 (12), the relevant section being;

(12) No license issued pursuant to this section shall authorize any person to carry a concealed weapon or firearm into any place of nuisance as defined in s. 823.05; any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station; any detention facility, prison, or jail; any courthouse; any courtroom, except that nothing in this section would preclude a judge from carrying a concealed weapon or determining who will carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom; any polling place; any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special district; any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof; any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms; any school administration building; any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion of the establishment is primarily devoted to such purpose; any elementary or secondary school facility; any career center; any college or university facility unless the licensee is a registered student, employee, or faculty member of such college or university and the weapon is a stun gun or nonlethal electric weapon or device designed solely for defensive purposes and the weapon does not fire a dart or projectile; inside the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport, provided that no person shall be prohibited from carrying any legal firearm into the terminal, which firearm is encased for shipment for purposes of checking such firearm as baggage to be lawfully transported on any aircraft; or any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law. Any person who willfully violates any provision of this subsection commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.​

Once you're inside the doors to the terminal, sterile area or not you're in a prohibited area. It use to be legal in Florida, it was repealed a few years ago.

A few shall issue States prohibit airport carry; AR, FL, ND, NV (concealed only prohibited), OH, OK and VA.

You are not in the passanger/sterile part of the airport until you go through the security check point. Up until that point you are legal to carry.
 
Why does this portion exist?

provided that no person shall be prohibited from carrying any legal firearm into the terminal, which firearm is encased for shipment for purposes of checking such firearm as baggage to be lawfully transported on any aircraft

Reading the whole clause implies that cannot carry any firearms into the passenger accessible area of the airport unless they are prepared to be checked unloaded as baggage. The legislative intent is pretty obvious to me.

Does anyone have a copy of Link Removed and get his opinion on it? The Statute and DOACS site is pretty straight forward to me. Sterile area and terminal is the entire airport building.
 
Does anyone have a copy of Link Removed and get his opinion on it? The Statute and DOACS site is pretty straight forward to me. Sterile area and terminal is the entire airport building.

Yes, I have it. I'll check tonight to see what it says but I'm pretty sure that's where I got my info from originally.
 
CCW is prohibited in FL airports. Sterile area and terminal both.
 
Let me get this straight. If you're legal to carry there, then you can, and if you're not, you can't. Did I miss something?
 
Ok, from Jon H. Gutmacher, Esq.'s book Florida Firearms Law, Use & Ownership:

From section Places Prohibited With Concealed Permit:
Inside the passenger portion of any airline terminal, and the "steril area" of any airport (ie: the X-ray machine checkpoint, and beyond). Usually the area reserved for passengers making flight departures, or arrivals.

However, there is an exceptionS for anyone who is a passenger, is in the terminal (but not the sterile area), and is carrying a firearm for shipment as baggage on an airline so long as that firearm is already unloaded, and encased in a locked container.
So I guess I was wrong. Looks like you can't bring them anywhere inside the airport as the terminal would be right when you step inside for departures or right inside the arrival area, correct?
 
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Ok, from Jon H. Gutmacher, Esq.'s book Florida Firearms Law, Use & Ownership:

From section Places Prohibited With Concealed Permit:


So I guess I was wrong. Looks like you can't bring them anywhere inside the airport as the terminal would be right when you step inside for departures or right inside the arrival area, correct?

I'll do some more research but from what I've looked into and read the sterile section is anything past the security check point. Which, I think we all agree on. The passenger part of the airport is the section that is reserved for passengers only. Anything past were you have to show your boarding passes and ID. The exception was added just incase there is an occasion were the check in is into the passenger section, ect. At least that’s how I and a few others I respect read it. But I'll look into it some more and maybe drop my instructor an email. This may be one of those gray areas that have not been tested yet.
 
I got an email back from Jon this morning:

passenger section is normally any part of the terminal whereas the "sterile area" is the portion from the xray machines on. Federal and state regs cover the sterile area, state regs only cover the terminal.

So looks like you pretty much cannot go inside the airport at all with a gun unless you are a passenger and checking it in.
 
Pointless signs

That would be a pointless sign, indeed, but not as pointless as the large brass plaque on Hoover Dam, that says "Do Not Remove." One wonders what they mean. Are they afraid that someone will pull up in the middle of the night in a Ford pickup and haul the dam away, or maybe they mean do not remove this plaque?
 
Fortunately you found out before you got made, arrested and lost your CCWs. In some States, any weapon violation is a permanent prohibiting condition. Considering that airports are full of local, State and federal LEOs, there's a high probability of getting made.
 
I got an email back from Jon this morning:



So looks like you pretty much cannot go inside the airport at all with a gun unless you are a passenger and checking it in.

Interesting! Thank for getting a hold of Jon for us. I'll have to inform my friends also. Goes to show two people can read the same law and interrupt it in different ways. His comment almost sounds like its still not completely black and white: "passenger section is normally any part of the terminal.

Usually I just pickup and dropoff on the curb side but next time I go in I'll leave it in the car just to be safe.

Thanks again Luke.
 

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