Florida Possession of Firearm In Parking Lot Law Tested

The first case in Florida regarding legal gun storage in cars on employer parking lots is being tested. A Boca Raton funeral employee is suing his company for firing him on the premise that he had a gun in the parking lot of his place of employment. He is claiming that the employer violated the new state law that permits people with concealed-weapons licensing to have their firearms secured in their cars on workplace property. A spokesman for the funeral parlor declined to comment on the situation. The accusations that Collazo, 36, even had a gun on the premises were said to be made by two anonymous tipsters in the area claiming to have seen ” a bulge in his pocket” which resembled a gun.

This is groundbreaking legal news as far as concealed weapons on employee property goes. The “Preservation and Protection of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles Act of 2008” states that:

The statute provides that an “employer”—that is, a business with at least one worker who has a concealed carry permit—may not: (1) prohibit a worker with a concealed-carry permit from securing a gun in a vehicle in a parking lot;(2) prohibit a customer—whether or not he or she has a concealed-carry permit—from securing a gun in a vehicle in a parking lot; (3) ask a worker with a concealed carry permit or a customer whether he or she has a gun in a vehicle in a parking lot, take any action against such a worker or against a customer based on a statement about whether the worker or customer has a gun in a vehicle in a parking lot for lawful purposes, or search a vehicle in a parking lot for a gun; (4) condition employment on whether a person has a concealed-carry permit; (5) terminate a worker with a concealed-carry permit, or otherwise discriminate against such a worker, or expel a customer, for having a gun in a vehicle on the business’s property, unless the gun is exhibited on the property. A business that does not have at least one worker with a concealed-carry permit is not subject to any of these provisions.

Certain places of employment do not allow guns at work under law, but storing of your firearm securely in your car at work is OKAY. Be sure to follow this blog to see where the courts go with this one.


Attorney Ralph Behr is well versed on the law and is always reading new court readings and verdicts throughout the State. He can keep you out of jail with the proper knowledge on how to. Do not risk your legal welfare with an attorney that will charge you a minimal amount but put you at great risk. Call his South Florida law offices today!

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