Democratic lawmakers and public safety advocates are outraged after the Florida House of Representatives rolled back the age to purchase a firearm from 21 to 18.
The house bill cleared the floor on March 26 with a 78–34 vote.
This bill repeals part of the 2018 gun safety law enacted after the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. (The shooter, 19 at the time, used a legally purchased AR-15-style rifle to kill 17 students and staff.)
State Representative Yvonne Hayes Hinson, D-Gainesville, said that young people, specifically men, do not mature rapidly and have impulse control issues.
Gun carrying and violence are disproportionately higher among males and among youth already involved in the justice system, according to a 2019 study published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine.
“They don’t de-escalate well when their anger builds up, and the first thing that they do, if that's a gun, it’s a deadly decision,” said Hinson.
Republicans insisted the bill is about restoring constitutional rights and argued that if an 18-year-old could vote and join the military that they should be able to buy a gun.
Democrats from around the state, however, said the bill was “going in the wrong direction.”
“With all the pressing issues we have today, it is unfathomable to me that this is one of the first bills we are going to be hearing on the House floor,” said Christine Hunschofsky, D-Parkland, at a press conference. Hunschofsky was also the former mayor of Parkland at the time of the shooting.
Democratic leader of the Florida House of Representatives, Fentrice Driskell, said that guns are just another culture war distraction.
“Friends and family of the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas mass shooting pleaded with the legislature to pass a law to make Florida safer and prevent another tragedy. Stripping this protection is reckless and in betrayal of Florida's bipartisan commitment to the families who demanded action,” said Driskell.
Opposition has been especially strong in Alachua and Leon County, which swing Democratic.
“We need to do everything we can to prevent these tragedies,” said Nazse West, a student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. “People ages 18 to 20 are three times more likely to commit gun homicides than those 21 and older.”
Hinson said that the bill undermines responsible gun ownership.
“People are literally buying guns for their children as a guilt and then not supervising them with guns,” said Hinson. Hinson also stated that Alachua County may be one of the few counties that have undertaken gun violence and are trying to rein it in. Alachua has a gun violence alliance.
The City of Gainesville, Alachua County, and Santa Fe College are the three primary partners that agreed to form the Community Gun Violence Prevention Alliance, which aims “to turn the tide on gun crime and neighborhood violence in Gainesville, Alachua County and the surrounding municipalities,” the website says.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, guns are the second-leading cause of death for children and teenagers in Florida.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, enacted in Florida in March 2018, introduced several measures aimed at enhancing school safety and preventing gun violence.
Hinson, who has been an educator most of her life, believes that these school safety measures should stay intact even though the Republicans argue the bill “undermines safety.”
“Let me be clear, Florida House Democrats support the Second Amendment, but we want to ensure irresponsible gun owners do not use firearms maliciously,” said Hinson.