After months of delays, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried finally pledged to reopen her state’s online application process for concealed weapons licenses in a press conference Thursday morning.
According to Fried, online applications and applications submitted by appointment at the agency’s main licensing office in Tallahassee will reopen Monday, June 15. The Commissioner’s announcement comes in the midst of an ongoing lawsuit with YAL President Cliff Maloney, who filed suit against Fried in May after her office arbitrarily stopped accepting applications for concealed weapons licenses applications, citing public health concerns due to COVID-19.
“[This lawsuit] has absolutely no impact on our operation [or] decisions to open up today,” answered Fried when asked to address the lawsuit. “I certainly, as an attorney, do not follow the whims of a frivolous lawsuit on our decision in policymaking…”
In response, YAL President Cliff Maloney fired back: “Constitutional rights are not frivolous. It’s disappointing to see Nikki Fried use her elected office to undermine our rights to benefit her gun-grabbing agenda. At this time, the online Concealed Weapons License portal is still not open… so we are moving forward with the lawsuit to defend all Floridians’ right to self defense.”
Since March 23, Fried — Florida’s only statewide elected Democrat — stopped accepting online applications for concealed weapons licenses, hampering every citizen’s ability to obtain a license permit indefinitely.
Maloney noted that Fried’s online hemp cultivating licensing process was not shut down.
Previously, The Capitolist reported on how Young Americans for Liberty was going to pursue the lawsuit against Fried. “Your Department has been solely entrusted by the Florida Legislature to process and issue such licenses so that Floridians may lawfully exercise their constitutional right.” said President Maloney.