
The Republican supermajority in the Florida Legislature is working to roll back gun laws passed after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting in 2018.
In December, former Representative Joel Rudman and Sen. Randy Fine introduced bills relaxing the restrictions on current gun laws.
HB 31, titled “Carrying and Possession of Weapons and Firearms,” would allow open carry of any legal firearm or weapon. The proposal eliminated any fees related to the application and renewal of licenses to carry concealed weapons, updated the terms and removed fees associated with criminal background checks for firearms.
SB 94 addressed the age limit for the sale and transfer of firearms. The bill would eliminate the restriction against purchasing firearms for those younger than 21 years of age and remove the prohibition on the sale or transfer of firearms to persons under 21.
Under previous laws, restrictions only existed for licensed importers, manufacturers and dealers. The bill also removes the felony penalty for violating the earlier age restriction on firearm sales.
Rudman withdrew his proposal along with six others at the start of the new year after announcing his resignation from the Legislature to pursue a campaign for former U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz’s seat.
SB 94 has been sent to the House Appropriations and Rules Committee for further discussion, but Fine recently announced his resignation effective in March to join the race for a vacant congressional seat.
SB 94 is one of several bills and proposals since 2018 that have sought to roll back post-Parkland legislation, namely SB 7026.
Also named the “Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act,” the bill established the initial restrictions on the sale and transfer of firearms while also prohibiting the sale and possession of bump stocks. The act also prohibited any person found to be mentally defective or who had served time in a mental institution from possessing a firearm.
Gun rights advocacy groups in Florida have expressed their support for the rollbacks of gun laws. The Florida chapter of the National Gun Rights Association, in a press release, advocated for the Republican supermajority in the Legislature to advance Gov. Ron Desantis’ plans to overturn “open carry” in Florida by supporting HB 0031.
“Florida Gun Rights is dedicated to mobilizing the grassroots and ensuring the same thing that happened in 2023 isn’t repeated when weak-kneed establishment RINOs took the reins and delivered the bare minimum for gun owners so they could go into an election season pounding their chests as if they were pro-gun heroes,” Florida Gun Rights Director of Legislation Matt Mammoser said.
Mammoser also criticized Florida Senate President Ben Albritton for his stance on open carry and refusal to address it during the 2024 session.
“Gun owners in Florida are fed up with weak-kneed Republicans ignoring their constituents, kow-towing to the gun control lobby and anti-gun law enforcement bureaucrats to maintain the gun control status quo in the Sunshine State,” Mammoser said.
Florida Democrats, however, are pushing back. Former Parkland mayor and current Representative Christine Hunschofsky introduced HB 65, also titled “The Responsible Gun Ownership Act,” that would mandate background checks for all firearm sales or transfers.
The bill would also require all firearm sales or transfers to be processed through a licensed dealer and mandate safe storage of all firearms. Guns with no serial number and unfinished firearm frames or receivers would also be prohibited. The bill also mentioned regulations on the creation of firearms by 3D printers.
Sen. Tina Scott-Polsky, a Democrat from Boca Raton, drafted a similar bill in the Senate.
HB 65 is now under review in the Criminal Justice House subcommittee.