A measure (HB 133) that would lower the age to purchase a long gun in Florida from 21 to 18 years old passed its second and final committee in the state House on Tuesday and will hit the floor when the 2026 session opens, where for the fourth year in a row it is expected to pass in the GOP-controlled chamber.
However, a companion bill in the Senate has yet to have been filed, putting the measure in jeopardy of failure. A similar situation has played out during the past three legislative sessions, with the measure passing the House and dying in the Senate.
The proposal is sponsored by Rep. Tyler Sirois, R-Brevard County.
The majority of public speakers who came before the House Judiciary Committee opposed the measure, many of them students who invoked the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. That incident, which killed 17 students and instructors, led to the raising the age to purchase a long gun to 21 as part of a larger comprehensive gun safety package signed into law by Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
“Allowing teenagers to buy high-powered weapons and carry them without a permit in a state without permitless carry is not freedom,” said Jacob Lombardo, a senior at the University of Central Florida. “It is a threat to every student and every family in this great state.”
The only proponents of the measure were individuals representing Second Amendment organizations.
“Right now in Florida, 18- to 20-year-olds can legally carry a firearm. They can even open-carry a firearm. But they cannot legally purchase one,” said Jed Carroll of Gun Owners of America. “That means their right to self-defense exists only if someone else buys the firearm for them. And let’s be honest — that only works for young adults that come from families with the means to provide it.”
The measure passed mostly along party lines, with one Republican, Rep. Hillary Cassel from Broward County, joining the Democrats in dissenting.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.
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