A measure that would restore the rights of 18-, 19- and 20-year-old Floridians has passed its first hurdle in the state legislature.
Following the terrible mass murder at Parkland High School in Parkland, Florida, back in 2018, the state legislature hastily passed several new gun laws, including one outlawing firearm purchases for anyone under 21, including adults aged 18, 19 and 20. Republican lawmakers have been trying to overturn that law for several years.
The measure, House Bill 133, which would lower the age for law-abiding Floridians to purchase a firearm from 21 back to 18, passed the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on November 18 by an 11-5 party-line vote. If passed by the House Judiciary Committee, it would then go to the House floor for a vote.
Proponents of the measure believe the law is both unfair and unjust.
According to a report at cbsnews.com, Republican Rep. Jessica Baker, told lawmakers in the subcommittee hearing that the state law created an “unfair situation.” Specifically, she cited the fact that while people under 21 cannot buy rifles or other long guns, they can receive them as gifts.
“If we believe in equality, how is it that a young adult from a well-off family can get a long gun as a gift and protect their home and their families, but a young adult with no family support cannot?” Baker said. “We’re basically saying you can defend yourself, but only if you have parents who can afford to give you a long gun.”
Proponents, on the other hand, predict nothing but gloom and doom if Florida’s young adults have their rights restored.
The House has passed similar measures during the 2023, 2024 and 2025 legislative sessions. However, state senators have not been quick to embrace the legislation.
The punitive age law has also been the focus of several lawsuits, including one by the National Rifle Association, NRA v. Glass. In the latest action on that challenge, on May 16 the NRA filed a petition for a writ of certiorari urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
Even Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is asking the Supreme Court to overturn the law. In August, AG Uthmeir filed a brief saying the law is unconstitutional.
“The upshot of Florida’s law is that a 20-year-old single mom is powerless to purchase a firearm to defend herself and her child against a menacing ex-boyfriend,” the brief states. “Same for the 19-year-old who lives alone in a bad neighborhood and fears gang violence. To be sure, some young adults may be able to borrow a firearm from a parent or other older adult. But the exercise of a vaunted constitutional right should not depend on that chance.”
Florida’s ban on concealed carry for young adults has also been in the news, with a circuit judge in Broward County recently ruling that the carry ban for those under 21 is unconstitutional. In that challenge, the judge found that the restriction fails the “historical tradition” test established by the U.S. Supreme Court in NYSRPA v. Bruen, which requires gun laws to align with the nation’s historical understanding of the Second Amendment.
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