(José Niño, Headline USA) Florida Republican Rep. Monique Miller is in hot water with gun rights groups for refusing to accept the delivery of thousands of petitions from constituents, and for her moves to block the passage of open carry legislation.
Delivering petitions is an activity protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. However, Miller wanted nothing to do with the petition delivery and ordered the Florida House Sergeant at Arms to kick Florida Gun Rights Executive Director Logan Edge out of the state capitol.
On Tuesday, the National Association for Gun Rights and Florida Gun Rights published a Joint statement criticizing Miller’s actions.
Joint Florida Gun Rights / National Association for Gun Rights statement on today's anti-gun and anti-free speech actions by FL GOP State Rep. Monique Miller.@RepMoniqueM@NatlGunRights@FLGunRights@GovRonDeSantis@Daniel_PerezFL https://t.co/oMz1vikq3a
— Ryan J. Flugaur (@ryanflugaur) March 4, 2025
“This isn’t just a slap in the face to gun owners—it’s a deliberate attempt to bury the Open Carry bill while hiding behind a cheap political stunt,” declared Ryan Flugaur, Vice President of the National Association for Gun Rights, the parent organization of Florida Gun Rights.
“For weeks, Miller has been squatting on the Open Carry bill, refusing to introduce it, despite Governor DeSantis’ call in his State of the State Address for lawmakers to advance pro-gun legislation,” added Flugaur. “Other than Florida, only New York, California, and Illinois continue to have this gun control on the books, in defiance of the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen Decision.”
“Governor Ron DeSantis said, ‘In spite of us saying we’re a free state, we’ve definitely lagged on that issue,’ while calling for Open Carry and repeal of Red Flag gun confiscation in his address today, and Rep. Monique Miller’s shameful actions are proof of that,” noted Edge.
“On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of pro-gun Floridians who want to bring Florida in line with the other 28 Constitutional Carry states, we’re urging Rep. Miller to apologize for her actions immediately, accept the petitions, and introduce the Open Carry bill without further delay,” Edge added.
The National Association for Gun Rights legal council is currently investigating this incident to determine if Edge’s and each petition signer’s First Amendment rights were violated.
Florida, along with California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New York and the District of Columbia, are the only jurisdictions that currently ban open carry.
NAGR is one of the fastest growing “no compromise” lobbies in the United States. It currently boasts 4.5 million members and its FLGR affiliate purports to be the “largest “No Compromise” gun rights group in the Sunshine State.”
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
