Guns – Permitless Carry – Protestors rallying for gun control – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Heidi Besen
In a vote to undo a controversial move made following the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, the Florida House approved a bill on Friday that would lower the legal buying age for rifles and other “long” firearms from 21 to 18.
After Nikolas Cruz, then 19 years old, used a semi-automatic rifle to kill 17 students and faculty members and injure 17 others in a school shooting in 2018, lawmakers included gun restrictions in a comprehensive school safety package.
Handgun purchases by those under 21 are already prohibited under federal law. The House bill’s sponsor, Bobby Payne, R-Palatka, said during the discussion on the proposal to reduce the age that the legislation “corrects the wrong we did in 2018.” The other elements of the 2018 statute that dealt with mental health and school safety would remain in effect, according to Payne, if the bill (HB 1543) were to pass.
The issue, according to you, is the guns, Payne stated. “I think the policies and interventions are the way forward.”
Democrats, though, were adamantly opposed to eliminating the age requirement, arguing that it had prevented a repeat of the Broward County mass shooting. Democratic state representative Christine Hunschofsky begged her colleagues to maintain the age restriction. She was the mayor of Parkland at the time of the incident. A national “gold standard” for school safety, she referred to the 2018 bill.
“This statute has stood the test of time because there has not been another school shooting in the state of Florida, and I pray to God we never do so that kids will not hide or run to the ground when a balloon pops. This is the wrong direction for us,” she remarked.
The legislation has one week left in the 2023 legislative session, and its fate is still up in the air. The proposal has drawn criticism from Florida senator and Senate president Kathleen Passidomo.
Passidomo told reporters before the House’s 69-36 vote on Friday, “I will see it when it comes over.”
Part of the argument put forth by the bill’s proponents is that the restriction on under-21s purchasing long guns infringes on the rights of young adults.
In a state that had increased gun rights over many years, the Republican-controlled Legislature’s 2018 vote was incredibly uncommon.
As soon as possible, the National Rifle Association filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming that the law was unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. By ruling that the statute is lawful in 2021, Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker. The case, according to Walker, is “squarely in the middle of a constitutional no man’s land,” even though he claimed to be following the law. The NRA filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals for the 11th U.S. Circuit. The law was affirmed in March by a three-judge appeals court panel in Atlanta. The NRA has requested a review of the judgment by the entire court.
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Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.