Vern Evans
The Florida Legislature kicked off its 2025 session on Tuesday with a number of pro-gun measures on the docket, some rolling back restrictions that were passed back in 2018 after the mass murder at a high school in Parkland, Florida.
Following that shooting, the state legislature passed a law raising the minimum age to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer from 18 to 21 years of age. Since then, the National Rifle Association and other pro-rights groups have continually fought the law in court to get it overturned.
Now, a series of billsā Senate Bill 94,Ā Senate Bill 920,Ā Senate Bill 1716, and House Bill 759āwould do just that, restoring the ability for young adults to acquire firearms by lowering the minimum age requirement to purchase from 21 to 18.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis supports the measure. He addressed the age limitation during his State of the State address on March 4.
āI can tell you that we, in spite of us saying weāre the Free State, in spite of us being like, āOh, weāre this Republican conservative bastion,ā weāve definitely lagged on that issue,āĀ Gov. DeSantis said. āThe free state of Florida has not exactly led the way on protecting Second Amendment rights. We need to be a strong Second Amendment state.ā
Of course, there are plenty of detractors in the Florida legislature poised to try to halt the legislationās momentum. They include House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell, who said restoring the gun purchase age would be dangerous, despite the fact that the vast majority of states have no such law.
ā[The changes] would be awful for our law enforcement,ā she told wusf.org. āWe absolutely want to keep them safe as they do their job. I was very troubled by his comments.ā
Incidentally, Gov. DeSantis has also voiced his support for repealing the stateās red-flag law and allowing open carry. Earlier this year, he proposed what he called āSecond Amendment Summer,ā which would eliminate the sales tax on the purchase of guns, ammunition, and accessories from Memorial Day to the 4thĀ of July.Ā
Another pro-gun-rights measure under consideration, Senate Bill 952/House Bill 6025, would address the problematic laws Florida has on the books regarding possession of firearms during and after emergencies. In a nutshell, the bills would repeal automatic prohibitions that violate Floridiansā Second Amendment rights during a public disorder state of local emergency.Ā
State law currently prohibits the intentional possession of a firearm in public, the sale of any ammunition or firearms and the intentional display of ammunition or firearms in a store during an emergency. The legislation addresses all three dangerous restrictions and would strike them from the books.
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