{"id":1153,"date":"2025-10-14T02:43:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T02:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/1153\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T02:43:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T02:43:09","slug":"fully-grown-or-still-too-young-another-push-to-lower-floridas-legal-gun-buying-age-reignites-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/1153\/","title":{"rendered":"Fully grown or still too young? Another push to lower Florida\u2019s legal gun-buying age reignites debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 A new bill filed for Florida\u2019s 2026 legislative session is reigniting debate over gun laws in the state. <\/p>\n

If passed, House Bill 133 would lower the minimum age to purchase or transfer firearms from 21 to 18, reversing a major part of the law passed after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.<\/p>\n

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Tyler Sirois, R-Merritt Island, would undo one of the most sweeping gun reforms in recent state history. <\/p>\n

After the Parkland shooting, which killed 17 students and staff, Florida raised the minimum age to purchase long guns to 21. <\/p>\n

TELL US: Should Florida lower its minimum age to own guns from 21 to 18? Vote in our poll<\/a><\/p>\n

Currently, 18- to 20-year-olds in Florida can receive firearms as gifts, but cannot buy them directly from licensed dealers.<\/p>\n

Gun rights attorney Eric Friday supports the bill and argues that it corrects what he calls a constitutional overreach.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese 18- to 20-year-old adults never should have lost their rights because of the act of a madman in Parkland,\u201d Friday said. \u201cThe government failed to do its job to protect students and teachers in that school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friday also pointed to ongoing legal challenges related to the age restriction, which is currently being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 11th Circuit, unfortunately, got it wrong in relation to this Florida law,\u201d he said. \u201cOur new Attorney General, (James) Uthmeier, has made it clear he believes that decision needs to be reversed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gun deaths and public safety concerns<\/p>\n

Opponents of the bill argue that 18 is too young in a state with open carry laws and no formal training requirements to obtain a firearm. <\/p>\n

Many point to the nation\u2019s rising number of mass shootings and gun deaths as a reason to keep the age limit at 21.<\/p>\n

As of mid-October, there have been at least 335 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2025, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Frank Fuentes, a Jacksonville resident, believes the law should remain unchanged.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they should keep it at 21,\u201d Fuentes said. \u201cWhen you reach that age, you have a better understanding of what you need a gun for. Eighteen is pretty much still high school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another resident, Kamisha Armstrong, pushed back on comparisons to military service, which begins at age 18.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can go in the military at 18, that\u2019s true, but I feel like that\u2019s different,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cThey train you to properly handle firearms. But out here, just getting a gun willy-nilly \u2014 there are a lot of young, uneducated people. Some people shouldn\u2019t be holding a gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

A poll of News4JAX viewers on Monday showed overwhelming support for keeping Florida\u2019s gun-buying age at 21. As of 5 p.m., 1,665 viewers voted No to lowering the legal age to 18. Just under 300 viewers voted Yes.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n

Supporters of the bill argue that 18 is the age of legal adulthood in the United States and that denying legal adults the right to purchase a firearm is unconstitutional. <\/p>\n

Critics warn that lowering the age increases the risk of gun misuse, especially without additional safety or training requirements.<\/p>\n

The bill will be taken up during the 2026 legislative session, where it is expected to face fierce debate from both sides of the aisle \u2014 and from Floridians.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 A new bill filed for Florida\u2019s 2026 legislative session is reigniting debate over gun laws…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,1765,1766,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-1153","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-florida","9":"tag-florida-headlines","10":"tag-florida-news","11":"tag-gun-laws","12":"tag-parkland-school-shooting","13":"tag-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}