We reported recently how Florida lawmakers were advancing a measure to lower the age for purchasing a long gun—which had been raised to 21 back in 2018 after the mass murder at a high school in Parkland, Florida—back to 18.
Late last month, the state House of Representatives passed House Bill 759 by a 78-to-34 margin. However, some Republicans in the Senate had been wavering in their support for the measure, resulting in the bill sitting idle in committee.
Unfortunately for both prospective young gun owners and freedom in Florida, the mass murder at Florida State University last week seems to have galvanized opposition to the measure and pushed some wavering supporters to the other side. Consequently, chances of the measure passing this year, despite Gov. Ron DeSantis’s full support for the measure, have dropped dramatically.
In fact, Gov. DeSantis has been on board with the idea since the very first of the legislative session.
“I can tell you that we, in spite of us saying we’re the Free State, in spite of us being like, ‘Oh, we’re this Republican conservative bastion,’ we’ve definitely lagged on that issue,” Gov. DeSantis said in his state of the state address. “The free state of Florida has not exactly led the way on protecting Second Amendment rights. We need to be a strong Second Amendment state.”
On April 21, however, Senate Rules Chairwoman Kathleen Passidomo, a Republican, said that her committee won’t take up the House measure that would lower the minimum age. And while she said the decision was made before the shooting at FSU, the timing of the announcement is interesting, at the very least.
“I haven’t changed my position in how many years,” said Passidomo, who was formerly the Senate president. “I’ve been clear from day one that I’m not going to replace Parkland. I was there.”
Unfortunately for Floridians, this will be the third straight year the state House of Representatives approved the measure and the Senate let it stall out. An NRA-led lawsuit against the law met defeat in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and could be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, new Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier doesn’t agree with the age restriction and has said he will not defend it in court.
If Senate Democrats did make the decision based on the recent murders at FSU, it is obvious their decision was based more on political posturing than on a logical thought process. The individual who committed the atrocity used his stepmother’s duty weapon in the attack, so no restriction on age for purchasing firearms would have made a difference in the matter. It was also a handgun, which the current bill doesn’t address.
With 18-year-olds being eligible to vote and serve in the military, Florida’s law proclaiming that their Second Amendment rights don’t take effect until they reach 21 is a slap in the face of all young adults in the state. Unfortunately, with the Senate having no plans to consider the bill, the situation will continue to infringe on the liberties of all 18-, 19- and 20-year-old Floridians.
