Vern Evans
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signaled that he wants to repeal the red flag law in the Sunshine State, arguing that it infringes on gun owners’ Second Amendment rights.
The governor made his intentions known during Tuesday’s State of the State Address.
The state’s red flag law was signed by then-Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican who is now a U.S. senator, in the aftermath of the Feb. 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in which 17 people were killed.
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The legislation allows law enforcement to seek a court order to confiscate firearms from someone who is considered a threat to themselves or others and prevents them from purchasing more weapons in the future. This is different from other states with red flag laws where family members and roommates can also petition the court to confiscate firearms.
The Florida law also raised the minimum legal age for purchasing guns in Florida to 21.
DeSantis argues that red flag laws, or risk protection orders, are unconstitutional. He said he would have vetoed the law if he was governor when it was signed in 2018.
“If you look at this red flag law that was passed, they can go in and say, ‘this person’s a danger, they should have their firearms taken away,’ which is property in addition to being something connected with a constitutional right,” DeSantis said. “The burden shifts where you have to prove to a court that you are not a menace or a threat. That’s not the way due process works.”
Nearly 10,000 risk protection order petitions have been filed by law enforcement across the state between July 2022 and the end of 2024, state records show, according to Fox 13.
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No bills have been filed in either chamber of the Florida legislature to repeal the red flag law.
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