Irrational Gun Fear Forces Publix to Change Its Open Carry Policy

LAKELAND, Fla. — Publix recently revised its firearm policy in Florida stores to request that only law enforcement officers openly carry firearms while inside its locations. All others are banned from exercising this right. The change appeared through updated store signage and FAQ language on the company’s website in May 2026. Publix had previously allowed open carry after a Florida court ruling overturned the state’s open-carry ban in 2025, but the company has since reversed that position. As a private business, Publix retains the authority to set rules regarding firearms on its property. But how is this policy viewed by the public it serves?

So why did this happen? Well, some people complained. Yes, the anti-gun, boycott-brigade kicked and screamed like the insufferable crybabies they are and encouraged Publix to change its policy on open-carry, which it did – defying the spirit of recent court precedent and state law and severely limiting the Second Amendment rights of its customers.

The attack on our Second Amendment is real, but the underlying premise is not necessarily based in reality. In fact, it’s never based on reality, only emotion. This is a clear example of why propaganda and cancel culture are so important to the political left. In a country built on rights and common sense, it’s the only way Democrats can get their policies through. Manipulating the emotions of weak-minded people affords them the ability to trample on the constitutional rights of their fellow citizens.

Anti-gun propaganda can shape public perception by repeatedly associating firearms with chaos, violence, and criminal behavior, even when the vast majority of gun owners use firearms lawfully and responsibly every day (for example, see the related story of a concealed carry permit holder helping stop a shooter in Massachusetts this week). When media coverage and political messaging focus almost exclusively on rare but emotionally-charged tragedies, otherwise rational people can begin to develop exaggerated fears about simply seeing a firearm in public, regardless of the context. This dynamic can now be seen in the controversy surrounding Publix grocery stores, where some customers complained about individuals legally open carrying firearms.

They didn’t complain because those individuals posed a threat, but rather years of fear-driven messaging conditioned people to equate the visible presence of a gun with immediate danger. This is a clear demonstration of how propaganda can influence emotional responses more than objective risk assessment, and it encourages some people to treat lawful behavior as inherently threatening simply because it feels unfamiliar or frightening.

Fear-based propaganda is often most effective on people who rely heavily on emotional reactions, social conformity, or authority figures rather than independent analysis of evidence and context to make decisions. Repetition of alarming messages can reduce critical thinking and encourage some individuals to accept simplified narratives without closely examining facts or probabilities. Researchers in psychology and mass communication have long observed that “fear-appeals” are especially persuasive when audiences feel uncertain, anxious, or socially pressured, making them more likely to adopt group opinions instead of forming conclusions through careful reasoning.

There are several peer-reviewed psychological studies showing that fear-based propaganda and emotionally charged persuasion tend to be more effective on people with lower analytical reasoning ability, higher authoritarian tendencies, lower tolerance for ambiguity, or reduced critical-thinking engagement. They often use terms such as low cognitive ability, low need for cognition, high authoritarianism, or susceptibility to emotional persuasion.

One of the strongest findings comes from a large-scale study by psychologists Gordon Hodson and Michael Busseri. Using data from more than 15,000 participants, they found that lower cognitive ability predicted higher levels of prejudice and stronger attraction to authoritarian ideologies, which are often heavily driven by fear-based political messaging.

Anti-gun fear-mongers and their lapdog lobby groups like Moms Demand Action, Everytown for Gun Safety, and The Giffords group have been capitalizing on these psychological manipulation tools for decades. Just look at their social media posts, and you will quickly recognize their strategies.

Another major meta-analysis involving more than 27,000 participants found that fear appeals consistently influence attitudes and behavior, especially when messages emphasize danger, vulnerability, and emotional urgency. Mainstream news organizations understand this well and have incorporated the philosophy that “if it bleeds, it leads” into their business models.

Research on extremist thinking also found that people with more rigid ideological views often struggle more with complex cognitive tasks and tend to process information in more black-and-white ways, making simplistic propaganda narratives more persuasive. In the case of Publix’s open carry policy… “guns scary. Must not see them.”

We shouldn’t be surprised when we see the political left act out irrationally when they are “triggered” by the propaganda that their preferred media outlets serve them daily, because that is and has been precisely the plan all along. Congressional Democrats and liberal media outlets are quite aware that, although they appear to placate their liberal voters, the real intent is to manipulate them and get them to support the causes and policies Democrats need and to keep them in office. With respect to firearms and the Second Amendment, they have been successful to a certain extent, but the Second Amendment always seems to defeat them in the end… and they hate that.

Will the new Publix ban on open-carry stick? Likely not, due to the stores being located in a relatively gun-friendly state, but the real question is, will Florida gun owners decide to push back on this latest “woke-pandering” policy, or take their business elsewhere?