TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A Panhandle Republican is again asking the Florida House to repeal gun-related provisions of a law passed in 2018 after a mass shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Rep. Mike Hill, R-Pensacola, on Friday filed a bill (HB 6003) for consideration during the 2020 legislative session that would roll back parts of the 2018 law, which raised the minimum age from 18 to 21 to purchase rifles and other long guns, required a three-day waiting period for buying the weapons, banned so-called bump stocks and established what is known as a “red flag” system.
Hill proposed a similar bill for the 2019 legislative session (HB 6073), but it was not heard in committees.
The 2020 session starts in January.
“Red flag” laws have drawn heavy attention nationwide after separate shootings last weekend that left 22 people dead in El Paso, Texas, and 10 people dead in Dayton, Ohio. Such laws allow law-enforcement agencies to seize firearms from people who may pose a threat to themselves or others.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was among people urging U.S. Senate leaders to take up a red flag bill he introduced in 2018 after the Parkland shooting.
On Monday, Florida Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, directed Senate Infrastructure and Security Chairman Tom Lee, R-Thonotosassa, to lead efforts to determine if any further action is needed on state gun laws.