Florida State Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R) introduced legislation Tuesday that would make Florida the 17th permitless carry state in the nation.

Sabatini suggested that his bill is a reflection of citizens not having to pay a fee before using their rights of free speech or freedom of religion, yet they have to pay a licensing fee to carry a gun to exercise the Second Amendment.

Fox 35 quoted Sabatini saying, “This is a bill about making everyday law-abiding Americans more able to defend themselves if they wish.”

He asked, “Why should they have to pay just to defend themselves from an attacker?”

On March 12, 2019, Breitbart News reported that 16 states have permitless carry provisions, all of which recognize law-abiding citizens’ right to carry guns on their persons for self-defense, apart from any license from a state.

The 16 states are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming:

The left often warned that bloodshed and mayhem would result as many of the 16 states moved to abolish their concealed permit requirement. The left’s predictions have yet to materialize.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.