Publix to allow open carry of firearms in its stores. Do you feel safer now? Will other stores follow suit?
News and views for Florida's Left Coast
Remember that time you were grocery shopping in the cereal aisle when you were attacked at gunpoint by robbers who threw you to the floor and demanded your Wheaties?
No? Me, neither.
Would you feel safer or less so if you saw some guy with an AR-15 strapped over his shoulder shopping pushing the cart next to you?
These questions come to mind in the wake of news that Publix grocery stores in Florida will now allow customers to openly carry firearms.
Do Publix stores need the extra firepower to patrol the dark corners of the dairy section?
Of course not.
Will hordes of openly armed shoppers descend on the produce aisles now that Publix has opened its doors to gunslingers?
Hard to imagine. But this is Florida, so it’s best to wait and see.
It’s been two weeks since an appeals court struck down the state’s ban on open carry, and, I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen a surge of openly displayed handguns. At least not yet.
So, I don’t imagine it will be any different now that Publix has made its decision. Although the company’s reasoning for this choice was a bit bizarre, in my opinion.
Here’s what one of their spokespeople said:
“As of Sept. 25, 2025, Florida law allows the open carry of firearms. Publix follows all federal, state and local laws.”
Which is nonsensical. Why? Because the law also allows stores to BAN firearms on their premises, too.
So, Publix is clearly choosing which law it wants to enforce. And it has decided in favor of guns. Which puts it out of step with many other retailers.
Schools, bars, and most government entities also ban guns. So do courts that nevertheless enthusiastically support Second Amendment rights. They don’t want pistols or rifles or shotguns anywhere near them, either, when they’re on the job.
Publix has a history of entanglement in contentious political issues. It’s Publix Super Markets PAC (political action committee) gave nearly 72 percent of its contributions to Republicans during the 2023-2024 election cycle, according to OpenSecrets, a non-partisan campaign finance tracker.
And the threat of consumer boycotts has caused Publix to suspend political donations in the past.
So, this decision is in keeping with its historic right-wing political leanings.
How customers will react remains to be seen, but here’s another thought:
Will Publix’s decision prompt other retailers to rethink their own gun bans? And how will we feel about that if they do?
Safer? Or not?
What do you think? Share your views by clicking on the COMMENTS link at the end of this newsletter. Thanks!
Today is …
Curious Events Day, a time to ponder all those unsolved mysteries, such as whatever happened to Amelia Earhart, did D.B. Cooper survive his jump from the plane he hijacked, and has anyone found Jeffrey Epstein’s client list that mysteriously disappeared from Attorney General Pam Bondi’s desk?
Quote of the day
“Yes, people pull the trigger — but guns are the instrument of death. Gun control is necessary, and delay means more death and horror.”
—Eliot Spitzer
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After 20 years, I shopped at Publix this morning for the last time. Buying bananas next to a crazed lunatic with an AR-15 was not on my bucket list. 🤔
I don’t want to be in any store with a person carrying a long gun around. How do we know they are not the crazy one who is going to shoot up a place. I will immediately leave any space if I saw a person walking in with a gun. I imagine I would not be alone there are just too many mass shooters/shootings to trust someone who feels the need to go shopping with their long gun.