State laws regulating the sale, purchase, and ownership of guns are constantly under scrutiny and it seems with each legislative session a new law is put forth that will “fix” gun control in the State of Florida. Several federal and state laws impact the residents in Florida when looking to sell, buy, or own a gun.
Florida’s gun control laws are briefly summarized below according to Florida Statute 790.001.
- It is illegal to own machine guns and short-barreled rifles and shotguns.
- Florida has a three-day waiting period that excludes weekends and legal holidays to buy a handgun.
- There are multiple groups of people who cannot own guns, these groups include:
- Minors
- Convicted felons
- Someone with a conviction of controlled substance abuse within the last three years
- Anyone who has been adjudicated incapacitated
- Anyone who has been convicted into a mental institution unless they have been free from disability for five years
- A 3 year prohibition applies when someone has had a judgment of guilt withheld or imposition of sentence suspended on any felony or misdemeanor crime of domestic violence unless 3 years have elapsed since probation or any other conditions set by the court have been fulfilled or expunction has occurred.
Recently, two contentious new gun laws passed in the Florida House of Representatives, but failed in the Florida Senate. One bill motioned to allow concealed carried licensed gun owners to carry their concealed weapons on college and post-secondary education campuses. This bill, along with another bill that allowed licensed concealed weapons owners to openly display and carry their weapons, died on the Senate floor. If you would like to see any of these bills put forward again in the next legislative session or if you would never like to see these bills before the House floor again we encourage you to write your local Representative.
For further clarification on gun laws that impact Florida citizens or if you have been arrested for gun possession contact the experienced attorneys at Platt Cole Russell & Simpson PLLC to schedule your free consultation at phone 321-725-3425.
