Police May Constitutionally Stop and Detain Gun Rights Activists Openly Carrying Firearms in Florida

(Miami Beach, FL) Oct 1, 2021 -

The City of Miami Beach has prevailed in a federal district lawsuit brought by gun rights activists who were stopped at gunpoint and detained by officers of the Miami Beach Police Department while officers investigated whether the members of the organization were eligible to openly carry a firearm.

The group and its members sued in an attempt to secure a ruling holding that police could not lawfully stop and detain them for openly carrying a firearm while conducting a “fishing event” at the South Pointe Pier on Miami Beach. The decision, rejecting the group’s claim and holding the opposite, was issued late Thursday night by U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami.

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber called the decision a win for the city. “I’m glad a federal judge fully vindicated the actions of our officers who were obviously only seeking to protect the public,” said Gelber. “Perhaps next time these so-called activists will confine their misguided activism to their own neighborhoods.”

A link to the order in Florida Carry, Inc. v. City of Miami Beach, Case No. 19-22303-CIV-WILLIAMS (S.D. Fla. 2021) can be found by clicking here.

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