Currently, you must be at least 21 years of age in Florida to purchase a long gun (rifle or shotgun). The only exceptions are for law enforcement, correctional officers, and/or military service members that are at least 18 years old.
The purchasing age was raised in 2018 as a response to the Parkland school shooting in the state earlier that year.
Nikolas Cruz was 19 when he entered Stoneman Douglas High School and opened fire, killing 17 and injuring 17 others.
Cruz, shown with authorities at right, was arrested soon after and was sentenced to life without parole in 2022.
The Florida House just recently passed legislation to bring the age back to 18.
"To me, this bill is about the right to defend yourself, the right to keep and bear arms, the right to a well-armed militia. It's not about the tragedy," said Rep. Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola, the bill's sponsor in an article published on Tallahassee.com.
Talking about this bill on American Family Radio (AFR)'s "Jenna Ellis in the Morning" program, Attorney General James Uthmeier (R-Florida) said it was the right thing to do, as the age restriction for 21 and older infringes on the Second Amendment rights of Floridians.
"If you're going to regulate here, you have to show that the regulation is consistent with founding era regulation," said Uthmeir, who entered office earlier this year after Attorney General Ashley Moody (R-Florida) replaced Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate. "At the time of the founding, 18-, 19-, 20-year olds were not just encouraged and allowed to purchase firearms, many times they were required to do so especially for participation for militia and keeping society safe."
Since becoming law, the change from 18 to 21 was challenged in court and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Florida's gun law. However, the 5th Circuit has declared age restrictions on adult handgun purchases illegal. This leads people to believe the U.S. Supreme Court may intervene and settle the dispute over age restrictions in general.
"I was excited to see our House of Representatives pass the repeal, and I hope the senate will do the same," said Uthmeier.
Tuesday's a big day
It's not only House action in Tallahassee that could soon affect Florida gun rights.
Two special elections Tuesday could shake things up in the U.S. House.
In Florida’s 6th and 1st Congressional districts Democrats have thrown a lot of money into showing they can be competitive in Governor Ron DeSantis’ (shown left) conservative wonderland.
In the 1st District, Republican Jimmy Patronis and Democrat Gay Valimont are running to replace Gaetz. Patronis is the state's chief financial officer who received President Trump's endorsement in the primary. Valimont is a gun control activist who challenged Gaetz for the seat in November and received 34% of the vote.
National Democrats point to the fundraising hauls in some of the state's most conservative areas as a sign that voters are already fed up with the president's second term, and they say voters tomorrow will be among the first to put the new administration to an electoral test.
