FL Republicans raised the purchasing age to 21 after Parkland. The NRA filed a lawsuit against it. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in 2021 upheld the constitutionality of the law. Walker said he was following legal precedent, though he also described the case as falling "squarely in the middle of a constitutional no man's land."
The NRA appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A panel of the Atlanta-based appeals court heard arguments in May but has not ruled.
During the arguments, NRA attorney John Sweeney contended that 18-year-olds in Florida "do not enjoy the same freedoms guaranteed the rest of the adults in this country" by the Second Amendment.
But in a document filed in district court, attorneys for the state wrote that people ages 18 to 20 are a "particularly high-risk group" and pointed to scientific evidence about impulsive and risky behavior.
"Empirical evidence bears out that because 18-to-20-year-olds are uniquely likely to engage in impulsive, emotional, and risky behaviors that offer immediate or short-term rewards, drawing the line for legal purchase of firearms at 21 is a reasonable method of addressing the Legislature's public safety concerns," the document said.
Currently, there is no Senate version filed.