Jacob Ogles
The House has voted to lower Florida’s gun-buying age on assault rifles to 18. But the bill (HB 1223) has no shot in the Senate.
Six years after Florida enacted the first gun control laws in decades following a school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, many of the lawmakers who supported the 2018 bill voted to roll one provision back.
The bill’s sponsor, who voted for the 2018 school safety bill, said Americans need to defend themselves from a young age from criminal elements.
“What I’m worried about is my kids, my grandkids and your kids. They can’t defend themselves because we’re restricting their rights,” said Rep. Bobby Payne, a Palatka Republican. “Those constitutional rights that my father fought for, the veterans in this chamber fought for, those are being wiped out by a tyrannical approach by a failing federal administration.”
Payne, who voted for the 2018 bill, blamed continued gun violence on federal policies. He also blamed undocumented immigrants crossing the border and committing violent crimes.
“Now some Democrats want to take our guns,” Payne said. “They complain about gun violence, which is Black-on-Black crime, and use of stolen guns. Criminals attack innocent people every day.”
That prompted presiding officers to urge Payne quickly wrap his closing argument. The House then voted 76-35 in favor of the bill.
But Senate President Kathleen Passidomo has made clear the upper chamber has no plans to take the measure up.
Democrats, including several who held office in Parkland in 2018, said the bill aimed to reverse a vitally important public safety matter.
Rep. Dan Daley, a Coral Springs Democrat, noted that 15 House members remain in the chamber who served at the time of the shooting. Every one of them, including 13 Republicans, voted for a bill that raised the age to buy a long gun from 18 to 21. The Parkland shooter was 19 at the time of the Parkland shooting.
“You did the right thing. So many of you did the right thing,” Daley said. He noted a current U.S. Senator, former Gov. Rick Scott, signed the bill. Agriculture Commissioner and former Sen. Wilton Simpson and Lt. Gov. and former Rep. Jeanette Núñez did as well.
Rep. Randy Fine, a Palm Bay Republican, said he stands by his vote for the Parkland bill in 2018, even though many GOP Primary voters continue to say they can never vote for him because of it. But he said the change in gun-buying age was always a compromise, and the Legislature has come back nearly every year since adjusting the law.
“We come back here every year, and we change the security bill, in part because many of those promises that were made were not kept,” Fine said.
Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, a Parkland Democrat who was Mayor of the city at the time of the shooting, said a vote to rescind the law was a betrayal of the bill.
“You know where I was that day. I was at home, diagonally across from the school,” she recounted.
“I was there before the police lines were set up, as parents were coming showing me the texts of their kids in closets, afraid they weren’t going to make it. We had a police officer on campus who was too scared to confront the guy with the long gun — and the police officer was armed and trained. Similar to what happened in Uvalde, he didn’t go in because they were afraid of the gun. I was at the Marriott that night hearing the screams of parents getting the worst news of their lives.”
16 comments
Dont Say FLA
March 1, 2024 at 12:41 pm
Oh, THAT’s what this is about? Yeah, that explains it.
Bobby Payne and his G0P cohorts think if they lower the gun buying age to 18, more black kids will shoot each other dead, somewhat allaying G0P concerns regarding their supposed “Great Replacement.”
If Bobby and other G0Ps don’t want to be replaced, why not try the most obvious solution? Stop acting all the time like you need to be replaced.
Drinking age
March 1, 2024 at 12:47 pm
The drinking age was raised from 18 to 21 so high schools kids wouldn’t be in classes, lunchrooms, hallways, football stadiums, school buses, and/or school parking lots etc rubbing elbows daily with older students that could buy beer for them.
Doesn’t a required minimum age of 21 for gun purchases share the exact same benefit to high school kids and society at large?
If the gun buying age will be 18, the beer buying age should also be 18. That way maybe the 15, 16 and 17 year olds will ask their senior (high school senior, not elderly) friend to buy them a 6 pack of beer rather than 6 magazines and a AR-15.
Christopher Blaylock
March 2, 2024 at 1:52 am
That would be a straw purchase and I’m pretty sure that’s already a federal crime carrying a felony conviction and a 10 year prison term in this country.
Buying beer is not the equivalent.
JD
March 2, 2024 at 6:19 am
Equating straw purchases to buying beer is like comparing a cannonball dive to a puddle splash. Sure, straw buying nets you a felony and a potential 10-year vacation behind bars—it’s serious business. But to suggest that’s on par with the ease of snagging a six-pack is laughable. It’s apples and oranges, if the apples were wrapped in red tape and the oranges just rolled off the shelf. Let’s not confuse a tightrope walk with a sidewalk stroll, shall we?
Rich7553
March 2, 2024 at 12:47 pm
Show me the right to keep and bear alcohol in the Bill of Rights.
JD
March 2, 2024 at 1:51 pm
The Second Amendment emphasizes a “well-regulated militia” for collective defense, not individual entitlement to any weapon, including long guns.
The focus on a “well-regulated militia” underscores the balance between rights and regulation, not an unrestricted right to any firearm.
The AR-15’s capability of firing up to 0.75 rounds per second further highlights the importance of considering public safety in gun legislation.
Michael K
March 1, 2024 at 6:27 pm
Why is the answer to gun violence ALWAYS more guns?
Our nation is sick because the 2nd Amendment has been perverted beyond recognition by greed and corruption. In Florida, it is harder to vote than it is to buy a gun.
Christopher Blaylock
March 2, 2024 at 1:46 am
That would be a false statement. It is not easier to buy a firearm vs vote. Unless it’s sold illegally on the black market or something of that nature, but that is already illegal. Now, you do realize the amount of legal guns circulating in the US is somewhere in the 300 millions yet statistically gun violence has actually decreased over the years. How so if gun ownership is at an all time high? My recommendation is to start educating yourself on the real world factors and to leave emotion out of your logic. They don’t mix well.
JD
March 2, 2024 at 6:17 am
The claim that buying a gun is harder than voting misses the mark as much as suggesting an apple is harder to peel than an orange. It glosses over the wildly different laws and realities across states, not to mention ignoring the clear data linking higher gun ownership with increased gun incidents. Suggesting we remove emotion from a debate inherently emotional for those affected by gun violence is like saying we should calculate our taxes without a calculator—unnecessarily hard and missing the point. Perhaps the real recommendation should be for a refresher course in how data, law, and human impact intertwine in the real world.
Just Babs
March 2, 2024 at 11:02 am
The truth about America. It is much easier to buy a gun than to vote. No yearly registration to buy a gun. No checking, constantly, to see if some Republican idiot dropped you from the rolls. You can even buy your neighbor’s gun, or even a stranger’s gun, with no paperwork to complete.
Rich7553
March 2, 2024 at 12:49 pm
When was the last time you had to pass a criminal background check to vote?
JD
March 2, 2024 at 1:57 pm
Conflating gun purchase background checks with voter registration is not an apt comparision.
Voting rights hinge on citizenship, age, and residency, not on criminal history, aiming to maximize democratic participation.
Gun checks prioritize public safety, reflecting different societal goals.
tom palmer
March 1, 2024 at 6:57 pm
where do these goobers some from? Can Florida elect more adults?
Rich7553
March 2, 2024 at 12:51 pm
You mean adults like those who can spell and use capital letters properly?
Rich7553
March 2, 2024 at 12:58 pm
It boils down to this question – are 18 year olds legal adults or not? If so, then the right to keep and bear arms applies. If not, then they have no right to vote, enter into contracts, marry without parental consent, speak or assemble freely, and freedom from unreasonable searches/seizures. All rights apply or none do. Make a choice.
AmericanCitizen
March 3, 2024 at 6:47 am
Automatic rifles are not required to protect yourself. Handguns yes, but not military rifles to randomly murder several people at once. And 18 yr old are not emotionally mature enough to even have access to such a weapon as an AR-15. We are a spoiled, self-centered “it’s all about me & mine” nation & we will self-destruct because of it. Make it make sense for the common good.
Comments are closed.