# Florida Carry, Inc. v. University of North Florida

> District Court of Appeal of Florida · December 10, 2013 · 133 So. 3d 966

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/4809416

## Case

- **Full name:** FLORIDA CARRY, INC., and Alexandria Lainez v. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA, John Delaney
- **Court:** District Court of Appeal of Florida
- **Decided:** December 10, 2013
- **Citations:** 133 So. 3d 966; 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 19600; 2013 WL 6480789
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Benton
- **Judges:** Benton, Clark, Lewis, Makar, Marstiller, Nortwick, Osterhaus, Padovano, Ray, Roberts, Rowe, Swanson, Thomas, Wetherell, Wolf
- **Cited by:** 18 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/4809416

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- stating that “restricting recreational activities is a far cry from restricting a fundamental, constitutional right to keep and bear arms for self-defense”
- noting that “[t]he board of governors has .'.. delegated the responsibility for ‘campus safety1 to the various boards of trustees”
- acknowledging “the Attorney General’s broad and unquestioned authority to intervene as a party in any matter in which the State’s interest[s] are implicated”

## Opinion text

BENTON, J.,
concurring.
As the majority opinion explains, the University of North Florida is not a “school district” within the meaning of section 790.115(2)(a)3., Florida Statutes (2011). The trial court was in error on this point, and the case has to go back. But section 790.115(2)(a)3. does not control disposition of the entire case, and the court is not saying otherwise today.
Statutory prohibitions against exhibiting a firearm “at a school-sponsored event or on the grounds or facilities of any school” *978 and against possessing a firearm outside a vehicle “on the property of any school” “except as authorized in support of school-sanctioned activities, at a school-sponsored event” also pertain. See § 790.115(1), (2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2011). The University is a “postsecondary school” for purposes of these provisions. See § 790.115(2)(a)3., Fla. Stat. (2011).
Section 790.06(12)(a)9. and 13., Florida Statutes (2011), make clear, moreover, that licenses to carry concealed weapons do not authorize carrying a handgun openly or carrying a concealed firearm into “[a]ny school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms” or into “[a]ny 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.”
In short, the University successfully advanced its stated purpose to “clarify [its] weapons policy while remaining consistent with Florida law” when it stated in its Policies & Regulations that the University is a school as defined in section 790.115, Florida Statutes; that statutory prohibitions forbid possession of firearms on school property — except as specifically allowed in chapter 790 (e.g., in a vehicle pursuant to section 790.25(5), Florida Statutes, or in the limited circumstances (like ROTC) set forth in sections 790.115 and 790.06) — and that failure to observe the ban may subject offending students to school discipline, not to mention criminal prosecution.
While the Florida Constitution confers on the Legislature the right and responsibility to regulate “the manner of bearing arms,” Art. I, § 8(a), Fla. Const., the Legislature may exercise its constitutional prerogative by delegating article I section 8 authority to the Board of Governors or directly to the university boards of trustees, just as it delegated article I section 8 authority to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission by enacting section 790.33(4)(e), Florida Statutes (2011), and to the school districts by enacting section 790.115(2)(a)3., Florida Statutes (2011).
As (among other things) a partial, contingent or potential delegation of article I section 8 authority, section 1001.706(7)(b), Florida Statutes (2011), must, however, be construed in pari materia with section 790.115, Florida Statutes (2011). No fair reading of section 1001.706(7)(b) provides authority for the anonymous drafters of a student conduct code to set at naught section 790.115 or any other duly enacted statute. There is, indeed, no true “regulation at issue” in the present case, the dissenting opinion notwithstanding.
On remand, the trial court needs to revisit its ruling with regard to the University’s policy against lawfully storing securely encased weapons “in their vehicle[s] while on any University property or University-controlled property.” But a sweeping declaration that “[a]ll UNF rules and administrative regulations regarding firearms are null and void,” as demanded in the first amended complaint, is plainly unwarranted.

---

Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/4809416. Public record. Not legal advice.