Florida HB 133: Senate Blocks Bill to Restore Rifle Purchases for Young Adults

February 27, 2026
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Florida's Senate Rules Committee just slammed the door on HB 133, a commonsense bill that would have rolled back the state's arbitrary age restrictions on rifle and shotgun purchases for 18- to 20-year-olds. Championed by pro-2A warriors at Florida Carry, the legislation aimed to restore rights stripped away in the post-Parkland panic of 2018, when lawmakers caved to emotional hysteria and slapped a 21+ mandate on long guns—despite zero evidence linking young adult buyers to mass shootings. This isn't just a procedural fumble; it's a stark reminder that even in the Sunshine State, establishment Republicans are perfectly happy playing age-gatekeeper with your constitutional birthright, treating voting-age adults like toddlers when it comes to self-defense tools. Dig deeper, and the hypocrisy stinks: These same 18-year-olds can enlist in the military, deploy to war zones with M4s in hand, and bleed for Uncle Sam, but God forbid they buy a deer rifle at home without Big Brother's permission. HB 133 wasn't radical—it simply realigned Florida with federal law under the Gun Control Act of 1968, which has long permitted 18+ long gun ownership without incident. The Senate's block exposes the real agenda: incremental erosion of Second Amendment protections under the guise of safety. Data from the FBI's own crime stats backs this up—rifle-related homicides hover around 3-4% of total gun murders annually, and age-based bans do zilch to deter criminals who don't undergo background checks anyway. For the 2A community, this is a rallying cry. Florida Carry's call to action is spot-on: Flood your senators' lines, pack the next committee hearings, and primary the squishes who torpedoed this. If we let rules committees veto restoration of rights, what's next—21+ for handguns too? The implications ripple nationwide; victories like Missouri's recent repeal of similar bans show momentum is building, but only if we fight block by block. Stand firm, Florida—your young adults deserve the full promise of the Second Amendment, not nanny-state scraps.

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Florida’s Senate Rules Committee just slammed the door on HB 133, a commonsense bill that would have rolled back the state’s arbitrary age restrictions on rifle and shotgun purchases for 18- to 20-year-olds. Championed by pro-2A warriors at Florida Carry, the legislation aimed to restore rights stripped away in the post-Parkland panic of 2018, when lawmakers caved to emotional hysteria and slapped a 21+ mandate on long guns—despite zero evidence linking young adult buyers to mass shootings. This isn’t just a procedural fumble; it’s a stark reminder that even in the Sunshine State, establishment Republicans are perfectly happy playing age-gatekeeper with your constitutional birthright, treating voting-age adults like toddlers when it comes to self-defense tools.

Dig deeper, and the hypocrisy stinks: These same 18-year-olds can enlist in the military, deploy to war zones with M4s in hand, and bleed for Uncle Sam, but God forbid they buy a deer rifle at home without Big Brother’s permission. HB 133 wasn’t radical—it simply realigned Florida with federal law under the Gun Control Act of 1968, which has long permitted 18+ long gun ownership without incident. The Senate’s block exposes the real agenda: incremental erosion of Second Amendment protections under the guise of safety. Data from the FBI’s own crime stats backs this up—rifle-related homicides hover around 3-4% of total gun murders annually, and age-based bans do zilch to deter criminals who don’t undergo background checks anyway.

For the 2A community, this is a rallying cry. Florida Carry’s call to action is spot-on: Flood your senators’ lines, pack the next committee hearings, and primary the squishes who torpedoed this. If we let rules committees veto restoration of rights, what’s next—21+ for handguns too? The implications ripple nationwide; victories like Missouri’s recent repeal of similar bans show momentum is building, but only if we fight block by block. Stand firm, Florida—your young adults deserve the full promise of the Second Amendment, not nanny-state scraps.

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