FL House OKs reducing the age to buy a long gun from 21 to 18; it likely won’t become law this year

For the second year in a row, the Florida House passed a bill Friday to lower the age for Floridians to buy a long gun — like shotguns and rifles from a federally licensed dealer — from 21 to 18.

And for the second year in a row, it likely won’t become law, in part because no member of the Florida Senate filed a similar bill.

The House measure (HB 1223) is sponsored by Republican Bobby Payne, who represents parts of northeast Florida counties.

The state raised the age to purchase a long gun from 18 to 21 as part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act that was passed in 2018, shortly after a 19-year-old shot and killed 17 students and staff in Parkland, in Broward County.

Democrats were outraged that Republicans once again were attempting to repeal a portion of that law.

“This is personal,” said Broward County Democratic Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, who was mayor of Parkland at the time of the massacre. “It pains me to hear some of the garbage arguments that are made against it.”

But Collier County Republican Rep. Bob Rommel said that while he voted for the law in 2018, he didn’t want to vote for the provision raising the age to purchase a long gun. “We had two choices that day: vote the bill up the way it is, or not protect the children.”

Florida is one of only eight states that don’t allow individuals to buy long guns at 18, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.

Despite the fact that the bill will likely not become law because it doesn’t have a Senate sponsor, House Speaker Paul Renner defended having his chamber take up the measure.