FLORIDA, USA — Florida Sen. Randy Fine, R-Melbourne Beach, wants to restore gun purchasing rights to adults under 21.
Fine filed Senate Bill 94 on Tuesday, aiming to repeal a 2018 provision of law that prohibits 18 to 20-year-olds from purchasing firearms from a licensed dealer.
In 2018, state lawmakers and then-Gov. Rick Scott passed State Bill 7026, dubbed the "Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act," after 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire at the school, killing 17 people. Cruz had legally bought the AR-15 rifle he used in the mass shooting a year earlier.
The bill raised the minimum age to buy a rifle or shotgun from 18 to 21, prohibiting those under the age limit from purchasing firearms from licensed firearm dealers, importers and manufacturers. Violators would be charged with a third-degree felony.
The law makes an exception for military members, law enforcement and correctional officers. The age restriction also doesn't apply to minors who are gifted a firearm, making it legal for adults under 21 to receive a gun from a parent or legal guardian.
Federal law already restricts anyone under 21 from purchasing handguns.
Fine's bill closely resembles House Bill 1543 filed in 2023 and House Bill 1223 filed in 2024 which also tried to lower the minimum age to buy a firearm. Both measures passed in the House but failed in the Senate.
“When you turn 18, you are eligible to enlist in our nation’s finest fighting forces and are entrusted with a rifle to defend our country,” Fine said in a news release shared Wednesday. “I believe that if you can use a rifle to protect our nation, you should also be able to purchase one.”
Fine argues that SB-7026 contains inconsistencies that allow 18-year-olds to be given a firearm by a parent or purchase one using a private transaction, but not from a licensed firearms dealer.
"Before I leave the Senate, I want to get that done," Fine said about the SB 94.
This isn't the first bill Fine has filed this week. On Monday, Fine filed another bill to repeal a 2014 law that offers in-state college tuition to undocumented immigrants living in Florida.
Fine announced plans to resign from the Florida Senate in order to run in the upcoming special election to fill Mike Waltz's open District 6 congressional seat, which encompasses parts of St. Johns County and all of Putnam and Flagler counties.
Waltz was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be the national security advisor. Trump has also openly endorsed Fine to fill Waltz's seat.
Fine isn't the first Florida lawmaker looking to roll back gun control measures in the state.
On Monday, Florida Rep. Joel Rudman filed a bill to allow guns to be carried openly in the state and repeal the red flag law, which was also filed in the wake of the Parkland mass shooting. The law allows law enforcement officials to restrict firearm and ammunition possession from a person who poses a danger to himself/herself or others.
