Florida’s three-day waiting period for most gun purchases could end soon.<\/p>\n
The requirement has the National Rifle Association and others suing in federal court. And Attorney General James Uthmeier, who\u2019s representing the state in the case, is agreeing with the plaintiffs.<\/p>\n
“Here in Florida, we’re not going to violate the Second Amendment,\u201d he said at a recent press conference. \u201cThese are important rights. The founders put it number two, I think, for good reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
ALSO READ: Florida’s open carry law is now in effect<\/a><\/p>\n Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment to create a three-day waiting period to buy handguns in 1990. It passed<\/a> with more than 84% of the vote.<\/p>\n Nearly 30 years later, after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, lawmakers expanded it to rifles and shotguns.<\/p>\n There are exceptions<\/a>, including for concealed-weapons license holders, firearm trade-ins and some hunters. The requirements apply to the retail sales that make up the majority of gun purchases. Some counties also have their own waiting-period rules.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Cooling-off Waiting Period Provisions are not consistent with this Nation\u2019s historical tradition of firearm regulation,\u201d write those suing, which include the NRA, gun stores and gun buyers. \u201cTherefore, Florida\u2019s Cooling-off Waiting Period Provisions are unconstitutional.\u201d<\/p>\n Uthmeier, in a filing earlier this month, proposed a judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. Under his offer, the state would agree that the waiting period is unconstitutional and stop enforcing it. Background check requirements<\/a> would still remain in place.<\/p>\n Those suing would also get $10,000 in attorneys’ fees.<\/p>\n This comes after<\/a> recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that have expanded protections for gun owners, leading to new legal challenges.<\/p>\n ALSO READ: Florida Democrats push long-odds gun control measures after open-carry law takes effect<\/a><\/p>\n Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman said Uthmeier choosing to try to end the requirement rather than defend it was \u201cdeeply troubling.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it’s a dereliction of his duty as the attorney general,\u201d she said. \u201cThe AG is trying to undo the things that the citizens of the state, as well as the legislators, have done, and this is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n