When Florida-based Publix announced quietly on Sept. 25 that the grocery chain would no longer prohibit shoppers from openly carrying firearms in its stores, I expected an outraged social media explosion that would start with “boycott” and end with “I guess it’ll be Winn-Dixie and Fausto’s for me.”

Didn’t happen. Either we missed the new policy or our statewide love affair with Publix tossed us into a conundrum. Close your eyes to a rifle-toting dude on Aisle 4 and reach down for a jar of Duke’s mayonnaise (BOGO!) or walk out in a huff, leaving the shopping cart behind. Appears most of us will opt for the Duke’s. (If Publix would add White Lily flour to Aisle 4, I’m likely to pretend not to see a platoon of armored shopping carts, too.)

Key West has two Publix stores, one Winn-Dixie and two Fausto’s, the iconic locally owned “food palace” that is our go-to for specialty products, quick grocery runs, catch-ups with friends and the only place one could find toilet paper in the early Covid-19 days.

Winn-Dixie’s corporate folks, along with Walmart’s, are sticking to their no-open-carry rules, at least for now. Publix said in its announcement that because Florida allows open carry it’s fine with guns slung across shoulders and bulging from waistbands.

Publix tried to soften the open-carry policy change by promising to protect the rest of us. “Treating customers with dignity and respect is a founding belief at Publix. In any instance where a customer creates a threatening, erratic or dangerous shopping experience, whether they are openly carrying a firearm or not, we will engage local law enforcement to protect our customers and associates.”

By the way, Publix doesn’t allow guns in its corporate headquarters.

Relieved? Eh, probably not.

Last month, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier lifted the last real restrictions on Florida guns after a state appeals court ruled that the state’s open-carry prohibition was illegal. Private businesses and individuals can still say no to guns — concealed or open-carry — so Publix wasn’t legally required to reverse its open-carry policy.

These days as long as you’re 18, not a convicted felon or vagrant, Florida allows you — without permits, licenses or training — to arm yourself with rifles, shotguns and handguns. (You do have to be 21 to purchase, but that’s like buying beer. Someone older’s around to get you a gun.)

Bless his little heart. Dude must figure he’s gotta shoot his Mediterranean Chicken Wrap if he wants lunch. I love how the women ignore him and just keep on working. Photo posted to Facebook on Oct. 14, 2025, by Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida. Definitely not in Key West.

Do you need a gun to do the grocery run?

I come from a long line of guns-in-the house folks. My mother, who if she stretched might have made it all the way to 5 feet, taught her grandchildren to shoot. I’ve got a photo of her laid out flat against a fallen tree trunk, rifle at the ready and a grandson squinting down the barrel of a similar weapon. Dad hunted nearly every Saturday, frequently accompanied by my mom and my brothers.

My sister and I opted out of the familial firearms bonding, though why we did had more to do with how early we’d have had to get up than making a political statement on the Second Amendment. And as most of my readers know, there are guns in my house, including the gas pellet gun in the corner for when Ranger Ed is on Key West iguana patrol.

I’m no woke gun hater and I’m not a fan girl. I’ve long argued that open carry is better than concealed, simply because I can see the gun. That gives me a choice to either grab the Duke’s or get the heck out of Dodge. I’ve walked many a mile of grocery store aisles alongside folks with concealed weapons and have never given it a passing thought. Out of sight, out of mind.

There’s that odd guy who strolled around Key West occasionally, a gun strapped to his back along with a fishing pole. Back then Florida allowed you to openly carry a gun as long as your were going to and from fishing or hunting. He wasn’t fishing for lunch. He was posturing — deliberately, arrogantly and with a smirk — to see how we’d react. Mostly we didn’t, though the cops followed him around just in case. Mega jerk he was.

But there’s something viscerally weird about openly carried guns. It’s intentional, aggressive, provocative signaling that you want to intimidate. No one in their right mind needs a gun to shop in Publix, build a sand castle at Smathers or shop for a t-shirt along Duval. You’re just hoping to get a rise out of me. Not happening. I’ll ignore you, all the while thinking “Why, bless your little body parts. Um, I meant ‘heart’.” I sure won’t let you see my eye rolls. And, of course, I’ll be hoping you know you can’t schlep that gun into a bar, police station, courtroom, airport, school or my church, much less my house.

Publix’s decision to allow open carry is bewildering, unnecessary and probably fraught with distasteful politics. It’s potentially a disaster waiting to happen. All we’d need is a couple of intoxicated good ol’ boys arguing over the last pallet of water for the boat to require a serious cleanup on Aisle 12.

Truth is, only the jerks will try, and Key West doesn’t much cotton to jerks, not for long anyway. I’m sure we’ll see a handful of provocateurs come high season, followed by the customary law enforcement presence to ensure it’s not a mass shooting in the making and a blast of social media that fades with the next button-pushing outrage. Meanwhile, I’d rather discuss which is better, old Publix or new, and speculate on whether the new-new Publix will ever get built. Plus I’m still hoping for a bag of White Lily on the flour shelf.

Unwilling to let it go? Call and/or write Publix: 1-800-242-1227; https://www.publix.com/contact

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What did Publix do and how does it affect you?

Gun laws in Florida (not yet updated for to include new open-carry rules)