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Originally Posted by Don P
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warned by the owner or lessee of the premises, or by a person authorized by the owner or lessee, to depart and refuses to do so, commits the offense of trespass in a structure or conveyance
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It's considered trespass when you are asked to leave and choose not to. That is the way I interpret the law.
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That might be how you interpret the law, but so what? What counts is how the courts will interpret it, and they very well might disagree with you.
Let's have another look at the fist paragraph of the statute as quoted by hogdogs in post 13, but with some emphasis added:
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(1) Whoever, without being authorized, licensed, or invited, willfully enters or remains in any structure or conveyance, or, having been authorized, licensed, or invited, is warned by the owner or lessee of the premises, or by a person authorized by the owner or lessee, to depart and refuses to do so, commits the offense of trespass in a structure or conveyance.
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Thus there are two ways one may trespass:
- If you willfully enter the premises without authorization, invitation or license, you are trespassing.
- If you have entered the premises with authorization, invitation or license but you are then warned or asked to leave, but you stay, you are also trespassing.
So if you are carrying a gun and enter a premises otherwise open to the public but which has prominently displayed an appropriate "no guns" sign, does that sign remove any authorization, invitation or license to enter the premises if you are carrying a gun? A Florida court could certainly so find.
I don't know if a Florida court has already answered that question, and I'm not planning to do the research.