TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida House voted Friday to approve legislation that would allow Floridians to carry a concealed weapon in public without a license or training.

The bill next goes to a final floor vote in the Senate, and assuming it passes there, the next step will be the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Proponents say the bill will not do away with background checks to buy guns or the minimum wait period to take the gun home from the store.

What You Need To Know

  • The Florida House voted to pass a bill Friday that will allow Floridians to carry a concealed  weapon without training or a license

  • It now awaits a final Senate vote   

  • The bill does not change who is eligible to carry a concealed firearm

  • The permitless carry provision is tucked into a broader school safety bill

  • RELATED: Open carry amendment to Florida gun bill withdrawn

If signed into law, the bill will do away with carry concealed training class people currently have to take to get a concealed carry permit and the more detailed FDLE background check required for the permit.

Republicans argue the bill eliminates government involvement in Floridians exercising their Second Amendment rights.

“People don’t have to carry a gun if they don’t want to,” said Rep. Chuck Brannon, a Republican from Lake City. “But this is a constitutional authority that people have, and they certainly shouldn’t have to pay for a piece of paper from the government to legally carry a weapon or firearm.”

But opponents, including Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg, say the bill is being pushed by some of the same legislators who agreed to tighten gun laws after the 2018 school shooting.

“Those legislations are now rolling back those promises,” Hogg said. “They lied to those students — they’re breaking those promises and they’re endangering the lives of our children in the state.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has indicated he will sign this bill.

Twenty five other states have permitless carry on the books. Some supporters, though, are displeased, saying they believe lawmakers should go further and allow citizens to openly carry weapons in public.

A Republican lawmaker on Wednesday withdrew an amendment that would have allowed open carry in Florida, underscoring the mixed positions on the issue among Florida’s majority party.

But the permitless carry bill isn't the only bill legislators are looking at.

There are also proposals to cut the age to buy a gun from 21 to 18, and a third bill that would ban banks from tracking transactions at guns stores.