A Florida Republican is hoping his bill would lower the minimum age requirement to buy a gun from 21 to 18.
Republican Rep. Bobby Payne filed House Bill 1223 on Thursday. A similar bill, House Bill 1543, filed on March 6, 2023, also looked to reduce the legal age of purchasing a firearm by three years.
This bill would overturn part of the law that was approved in 2018 by former Governor Rick Scott, which increased the minimum age to 21, following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School shooting. Before 2018, the minimum age to buy a long gun was 18, and 21 to purchase a handgun.
Fellow Republican Randy Fine told NBC affiliate WESH that he thinks 19 and 20-year-olds have the right to purchase guns since they are adults.
However, Democratic Party Rep. Anna Eskamani told WESH that it’s scary and unsettling” that legislature is trying to lower the minimum age amid the recent mass shootings.
“An 18, 19, 20-year-old does not need an AR 15. If they are purchasing such a weapon, as you saw in the case of Parkland, they’re doing so to cause serious bodily harm,” Eskamani told WESH.
But Fine said mental health is to blame.
“As we saw just a few days ago in Iowa, you know, a man who thought he was a woman got so confused about it, he went and killed a bunch of people. So we clearly have huge mental health problems when people can’t figure out if they’re boys or girls,” Fine told WESH.