{"id":149728,"date":"2026-02-10T04:13:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T04:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/149728\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T04:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T04:13:08","slug":"gun-control-advocates-blast-florida-attorney-general-for-refusing-to-defend-concealed-carry-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/149728\/","title":{"rendered":"Gun-control advocates blast Florida Attorney General for refusing to defend concealed carry law"},"content":{"rendered":"

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier asked an appeals court to uphold a teenager\u2019s right to carry a concealed weapon even after a Broward judge last year declared the ban constitutional, dealing another blow to gun-control advocates who have tried to make it harder to buy and carry firearms in the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n

Uthmeier also declined to allow the Broward State Attorney\u2019s Office to defend the law on its own, drawing criticism from some who say the state is abdicating its responsibility to defend the laws passed by the state Legislature.<\/p>\n

At issue is a 1987 law that blocks anyone between the ages of 18 and 21 from carrying a concealed firearm. The law has survived multiple reviews and reconsiderations of gun rights and gun control legislation.<\/p>\n

Last October Broward Circuit Judge Frank Ledee dismissed the case against a teenager<\/a> arrested for carrying a concealed handgun, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. \u201cBecause the Second Amendment\u2019s plain text applies to the concealed carry of firearms, Florida\u2019s concealed carry ban, as applied to 18-to-20-year olds, is unconstitutional,\u201d the judge wrote in his ruling.<\/p>\n

But months earlier, Judge Lorena Mastrarrigo upheld the same law in a similar case. Defense lawyers in that case appealed the ruling, and Uthmeier decided the state was wrong to prosecute the defendant, asking the appeals court to rule for the defendant.<\/p>\n

In a written statement issued Monday, Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor said he disagreed with the attorney general but would comply with his decision. \u201cGiven the impact of gun crimes in the State of Florida \u2014 including the Feb. 14, 2018, mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in our community, which resulted in the tragic murders of 17 children and adults and severe injuries to 17 individuals who survived \u2014 we respectfully disagree with the position taken by the Office of the Attorney General,\u201d Pryor said.<\/p>\n

Despite the Broward judge\u2019s ruling, the law remains on the books, and Pryor said as such his office will continue enforcing it.<\/p>\n

Florida House Rep. Dan Daley criticized the attorney general for putting conservative political preferences above state law. \u201cWhile our appointed Attorney General might not be aware, he does not have the authority to abandon a state law simply because he disagrees with it,\u201d Daley said. \u201cI am calling on Governor DeSantis to intervene here. The Governor has previously removed duly elected state attorneys for far less \u2014 based solely on statements about enforcement discretion.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeSantis has shown no indication that he disagrees with Uthmeier or Ledee on gun rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo single official should be able to decide which laws are worth defending, especially when those laws are designed to protect the public from gun violence,\u201d said Fred Guttenberg, a gun-reform advocate and father of Jaime Guttenberg, who was murdered in the Stoneman Douglas shooting<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a father who lost my daughter, Jaime, to gun violence, I am deeply disturbed by the Attorney General\u2019s refusal to defend Florida\u2019s concealed carry law for 18-to-21-year-olds. Laws like this exist to protect our communities and save lives,\u201d Guttenberg said.<\/p>\n

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