Verified answer

No you should be OK in a hotel in Florida. In fact, even if the hotel has rules, it is still not illegal. The hotel room is at that point your dwelling under Florida law, and you are legally okay.

Florida law does allow a citizen to transport a weapon in a private vehicle, even if that citizen DOES NOT HAVE a concealed weapon license. Note the following two key provisions in the law:

Section 790.25(5), which deals specifically with possession in a private conveyance states that "it is lawful and is not a violation of s. 790.01 for a person 18 years of age or older to possess a concealed firearm or other weapon for self-defense or other lawful purpose within the interior of a private conveyance, without a license, if the firearm or other weapon is securely encased or is otherwise not readily accessible for immediate use. Nothing herein contained prohibits the carrying of a legal firearm other than a handgun anywhere in a private conveyance when such firearm is being carried for a lawful use. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to authorize the carrying of a concealed firearm or other weapon on the person. This subsection shall be liberally construed in favor of the lawful use, ownership, and possession of firearms and other weapons, including lawful self-defense as provided in s. 776.012." (Emphasis added.)

Section 790.001(17) defines the term "securely encased" to mean "in a glove compartment, whether or not locked; snapped in a holster; in a gun case, whether or not locked; in a zippered gun case; or in a closed box or container which requires a lid or cover to be opened for access."

So, while you cannot carry the weapon on your person, you can at least have it nearby in your vehicle while traveling.

Also remember that Florida does NOT allow open carry, even unloaded.

If you have time, I highly recommend getting the non-resident CWL. It significantly cuts down on all the confusing BS that Florida still has on the books, because it basically automatically exempts you from almost all of it.

i'd say that the clarification you're having a complicated time looking the regulations proscribing those issues is by using the fact there are no longer any regulations proscribing them. Many states sense no would desire to function to the federal regulations already in place. So in line with danger you're searching for something that don't exist.