Publix Super Markets in Florida will now permit customers to carry firearms openly inside its stores, aligning with a recent statewide legal ruling. But Palm Beach County’s top law-enforcement officer says that isn’t a license to act brazenly with them.
“You as a citizen have a right to carry a gun, whether it’s concealed or open. You don’t have the right to be reckless or careless with it,” Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said in a prepared statement.
Bradshaw emphasized that while open carry is now legal, it doesn’t override restrictions in sensitive areas like schools, courthouses, and police stations. He also reminded residents that private businesses, including Publix, retain the right to ask individuals to leave if they choose not to allow firearms on their premises.
Florida’s signature grocery store changed its policies after a September ruling by Florida’s First District Court of Appeal, which struck down the state’s longstanding ban on open carry as unconstitutional. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier affirmed the decision, declaring open carry to be the law across the state.
Local Publix store managers, including one in the West Palm Beach area, confirmed that the grocery chain is complying with the new law. “The Florida laws have changed, and that is something they are allowed to do,” the manager told the Lakeland Ledger when asked about the policy. It did not identify the manager.
An email and phone messages to three of the company’s media relations contacts were not returned on Oct. 8. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Orlando Sentinel, which together first reported the story, said a spokesperson for the company emailed it this statement late that day.
“As 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. In any instance where a customer creates a threatening, erratic or dangerous shopping experience — whether they are openly carrying a firearm or not — we will engage local law enforcement to protect our customers and associates.”
According to a USA TODAY Network report, ”Publix asked back in 2021 that customers no longer openly carry guns in their stores in states where open carry is legal, saying they only want police officers with guns inside. However, they do allow the concealed carry of weapons in accordance with state laws.”
Publix stores in Florida changes its open carry gun policy
(File photo)
Is Publix the outlier with open carry?
The Sentinel newspapers talked to a local city commissioner who supports the Second Amendment but was concerned open carry at Publix would frighten people. The commissioner said she plans to stop shopping at stores allowing open carry.
Others, including a Fort Lauderdale private investigator, told the newspaper she would feel safer shopping in stores or malls allowing open carry.
“That’s assuming the person is a responsible gun owner,” she said. “And if there’s a problem, they will be there (to respond) before the police show up.”
Winn-Dixie, Walmart and Sam’s Club say they plan to continue to prohibit open carry in Florida stores despite the recent ruling, the Sentinel also reported.
Eric Friday, general counsel for the pro-gun Florida Carry, was not surprised about the Publix decision, saying concealed carry has been legal in Florida since 1987.
“Why is it now all of a sudden an issue, when before they couldn’t see the gun?” he said.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida Publix allows open carry of guns in stores, employees say