TALLAHASSSEE, Fla. — Brevard County GOP State Sen. Randy Fine proposed legislation that would lower the minimum age to buy long guns, rifles and shotguns, from 21 to 18.

The proposal (SB 94) seeks to repeal a key provision within the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Safety Act, which in 2018 after the Parkland Massacre raised the state’s minimum gun buying age to 21.

“This bill would simply give 18 to 20 year olds the same rights to purchase guns that 21 and up have,” said Fine. “They're adults. They should have those same rights.”

Florida law does not prohibit gun ownership under the age of 21. It does, however, restrict its sale or purchase.

“The majority of school shooters are 18 to 21 with a long gun,” said Coral Springs Democratic State Rep. Dan Daley. “Let's not make it easier for them to get a weapon. Let's keep the law the way it is. It is working. There is no reason to do this.”

Fine’s proposal marks the latest GOP effort to lower the state’s minimum gun buying age after the Parkland Massacre. A similar proposal failed in 2024, though it did advance through committees in the 2024 Legislative Session.

The Marjory Stonemason Douglas Safety Act is considered the most sweeping school safety package in state history. It spearheaded mental health and school hardening initiatives.

It also implemented a three-day wait period after a gun-purchase and banned bump stocks, a device that allows a semi-automatic weapon to fire more rapidly.

“I called on the Legislature to give me a bill that will allow us to make our schools far safer,” said then Gov. Rick Scott, who signed the proposal into law just weeks after the shooting.