Florida House passes bill lowering long gun purchase age to 18

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – A bill to lower the minimum age for someone to purchase a long gun from 21 to 18 passed 69-36 through the Florida House on Friday.

A Senate version of the bill has not been filed. Reps. Bobby Payne, R-Palatka, and Tyler Sirios, R-Merritt Island, sponsored the legislation in the House.

Under the bill, a person who is 18 years of age or older and who is not otherwise prohibited from purchasing a firearm, may purchase a long gun from either a Federal Firearms Licensee or a private seller.

Rep. Karen Gonzalez Pittman, R-Tampa, was the only Republican to vote against the bill.

“This gives sportsman, gives hunters, it gives outdoorsman, and those that have the need to protect themselves in their own dwelling, protect their family, the opportunity to protect themselves,” Payne said.

The sale of a handgun by a Federal Firearms Licensee to a person under 21 years of age remains prohibited under Federal law.

A Federal Firearms License allows an individual or company to engage in a business pertaining to the manufacture or importation of firearms and ammunition, or the interstate and intrastate sale of firearms.

Payne said young adults have been “restricted” from obtaining a long gun due to the age limit.

Under Florida law, it is a third degree felony for a person younger than 21 to purchase a firearm and for a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to facilitate any sale or transfer of a firearm to a person younger than 21 years of age.

The bill does not remove or reduce any of the criteria purchasers must meet to satisfy the background check required to purchase a firearm.

In March, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, told reporters she does not support a bill to lower the minimum age for someone to purchase a long gun. 

Passidomo told reporters that the bill has not been filed in the Senate and “nobody’s mentioned it” to her.

“We don’t have it in the Senate. I mean, nobody filed it, so there’s no bill to support,” Passidomo said previously.

Rep. Dean Black, R-Jacksonville, supported the bill.

“Many of these people that are affected by this bill live in cities where police departments have been defunded, and they have families to protect, and they shouldn’t be forced to have to wrestle with armed intruders, they should be able to defend their family. Moreover, a lot of other people live in rural areas like I do,” Black said.

“We’re not gutting this bill. We are simply making a minor correction, a sensible correction. I encourage all of you to vote for this sensible bill and I thank the sponsor for it. It includes great wisdom,” Black said.

Rep. Lindsay Cross, D-St. Petersburg, opposed the bill during debate.

“Members, this is a question about clashing rights – the right to own a gun versus the right to not be shot by a gun. In my belief, the public safety side should win every time,” Cross said.

“Having to wait until you’re more mature to purchase a gun is basic common sense,” Cross said.

Payne said he thinks this is “sending a clear message to the Senate” and people throughout the state that they believe in the constitution and second amendment rights.

In 2018, Sen. Rick Scott, R-FL, who, at the time was Florida’s governor, signed a bill that raised the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21, in response to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.