When I lived out in Wyoming for a year and a half, it didn’t take long to realize I wasn’t in Florida anymore. Out west, it’s common—normal, even—to see a cowboy or cowgirl with a firearm holstered on their hip. At first, it felt a little strange. I remember walking into the local grocery store, reaching for a shopping cart, when the cowboy next to me did the same. My eyes caught the glint of his sidearm. For a moment I thought, Well, that’s different.

But you know what? After a while, it stopped feeling strange at all. In fact, I started to feel safer. One day in a downtown restaurant in Cody, I noticed another cowboy sitting at the bar, gun on his hip, chatting with the waitress like it was nothing out of the ordinary. Because it wasn’t. Out west, they understand a simple truth: the good guys carry too.

That’s the kind of common sense Florida courts just caught up to. On September 10, the First District Court of Appeal struck down Florida’s decades-old open carry ban. The judges said what many of us have known all along—that the Second Amendment doesn’t end at the state line, and it certainly doesn’t stop at your coat pocket. Our Founding Fathers believed in an armed citizenry not for sport, not for show, but for protection—against criminals, against tyranny, and yes, even against a bad guy in the parking lot, on public transportation or at the mall.

Here on the East Coast, we’re more used to surfers and beachgoers than cowboys and ranch hands. Seeing a holstered pistol at Publix might feel unusual at first. But just like I learned in Wyoming, once the shock wears off, you find a strange sort of comfort. You realize the playing field is level. A law-abiding man or woman with a firearm at their side isn’t the threat—they’re often the shield.

The court’s ruling doesn’t mean chaos. It means restoring a freedom that was always meant to be ours. Section 790.053 of Florida’s statutes—the open carry ban—is no longer the law of the land. That’s a win not just for gun owners, but for every Floridian who believes the Constitution still means what it says.

Our nation’s founders were clear: the right to bear arms shall not be infringed. Today, Florida is one step closer to honoring that promise. And here in Jacksonville, maybe it’s time we rediscover a little of that cowboy courage—because sometimes the sight of a holstered gun isn’t a reason for fear, but a reminder that good men and women still stand ready to protect what’s right.