FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) \u2014 Florida\u2019s attorney general is moving to end a decades-old gun law, arguing it creates an unconstitutional burden. But gun control advocates are pushing back, calling it a small step that can save lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Friday that aims to settle a 2025 National Rifle Association lawsuit over the state\u2019s firearm waiting period law.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 1990, that created a three-day waiting period, excluding weekends and state holidays, between the purchase and delivery of a handgun. Individual counties and cities can extend the waiting period for up to five days.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2018, Florida lawmakers after the Parkland mass shooting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Supporters argue it creates a \u2018cool-down\u2019 period that prevents guns from getting into the wrong hands. But Uthmeier said the law is \u201carbitrary” and \u201cunconnected with the time required to complete a background check.\u201d The NRA said gun buyers must wait for delivery even if a background check is immediately completed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Uthmeier is asking the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida to declare the law unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery government office, including mine, exists to protect your God-given rights as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution,\u201d Uthmeier posted on X.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some gun owners welcomed the move, including Cody Collins, who owns Shooters Guns and Ammo in Fort Myers. Collins said he supports background checks, but doesn\u2019t see the need for a waiting period.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It should be a one-day, one-phone-call operation,\u201d Collins said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucy Rowles said the waiting period saved her life. 26 years ago, Rowles walked into a Lauderhill gun store ready to take her own life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It gave me some breathing room,\u201d Rowles said. \u201cGave me a chance to reassess my situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not long after, Rowles met her husband. She got to see her son grow up. And now she advocates for suicide prevention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rowles is the coalition leader for Florida Action Alliance, an offshoot of the national group created by Newtown, Connecticut residents after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. \u00a0<\/p>\n
She argued the waiting period can allow people to escape a domestic violence situation or re-consider a life altering decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The move is already rippling across Florida. State Attorney Brian Kramer represents the 8th Judicial Circuit, which includes Gainesville and Alachua County. he will immediately stop enforcing Alachua County\u2019s five-day wait period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) \u2014 Florida\u2019s attorney general is moving to end a decades-old gun law, arguing it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210,115,99,914],"class_list":["post-299725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299725","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=299725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}