Gun Control

The Parkland community was distraught, gun vendors were unmoved and legal experts were skeptical when Florida’s attorney general said he wouldn’t enforce a law – recently upheld by a U.S. appeals court – banning the sales of rifles and shotguns to anyone under 21.Florida’s attorney general, James Uthmeier, said he disagrees with a federal appeals court’s recent decision upholding the age restriction, passed in the wake of a 19-year-old gunman killing 17 people at a Parkland high school in 2018. In a memo, he said his duty to defend Florida's statutes is trumped by his duty to uphold the Constitution.

Amid a long-running legal battle about the issue, a Republican state senator Tuesday proposed repealing a law that prevents people under age 21 from buying rifles and other long guns. Sen. Randy Fine, a Brevard County Republican who is running in a special election for a congressional seat, filed the proposal (SB 94) for consideration during the 2025 legislative session, which will start March 4. The bill is similar to a measure that passed the House during the 2024 session but failed in the Senate.

Floridians no longer need a permit to carry a concealed firearm, and gun owners are overwhelmingly opting out of the safety and educational training once required for a license.Firearms instructors are seeing a dramatic drop in student sign ups for such courses, which teach safety and explain the state’s laws about where and how gun owners can lawfully carry pistols and legally use them in self defense.

Effective this past Saturday, a new Florida law went into effect that allows adults who are legally able to carry a concealed firearm to do so without a license. The law includes various changes designed to bolster school safety, including providing additional money for school hardening.What the new law does not change are the venues where guns are not allowed.

A proposal to ban merchant codes for gun and ammunition sales in Florida is ready for the full House. It’s already been approved by the Senate, largely along party lines.

Two House Republicans filed a proposal this week that would lower the minimum age from 21 to 18 to buy rifles and other "long" guns.

Democratic lawmakers say the bill would eliminate the firearms-training requirement. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri calls current training requirements tied to the licensing process “meaningless.”

Republican state lawmakers have filed legislation that would allow people to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments tomorrow in a dispute about a 2011 state law that threatens stiff penalties if city and county officials pass gun-related regulations. The so-called ‘preemption law’ is being challenged by more than 30 local governments and dozens of local officials, as well as Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried. We talk with Fried about the lawsuit and issues around gun violence. Fried is also a Democratic candidate for Governor.