Will Florida Judges Lead Lawmakers to Reform or Repeal Gun Control Laws?

Over the past few years, Republican leadership in the Florida Senate have served as a roadblock for reform and repeal of some of the Sunshine State’s most onerous gun laws. Former Senate President Kathleen Passidomo and current President Ben Albritton have refused to bring forward bills permitting open carry and rolling back the post-Parkland law prohibiting gun sales to adults under the age of 21, even though the bills cleared the state House by wide margins.

Since the 2025 session adjourned, though, some Florida judges have issued decisions that could spur the Senate to finally take action next year. First, an appellate court ruled that Florida’s ban on open carry violates the Second Amendment; a decision not appealed by Attorney General James Uthmeier, which essentially allowed that decision to apply statewide. More recently, a Broward County judge tossed out charges of illegal gun possession against an adult younger than 21, ruling that law too is an infringement on our Second Amendment rights. 

While that decision applies only to the defendant in that specific case, it definitely opens the door for those facing similar charges to raise Second Amendment claims of their own, and gun rights advocates argue its more important than ever for the legislature to take action. 

“Leaving unconstitutional laws on the books creates nothing but confusion,” said Sean Caranna, executive director of the advocacy group Florida Carry.

… Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, said the recent court decisions put more onus on lawmakers to enact state statutes that line up with recent judicial rulings.

“I would not be surprised if in the next session the Florida Legislature doesn’t just take care of this by amending the statute to say, ‘clean it up.’ And then that’ll end all these lawsuits and possible lawsuits,” Jarvis said of the age-related prohibition. “And that’s really now what should happen.”

That’s what should happen, but there’s no guarantee that Albritton will allow any clean-up bills to get to the Senate floor. And if he does, don’t be surprised if an open carry bill imposes additional restrictions that do not apply to concealed carry. One Democrat in the state House has already introduced legislation that would prohibit the open carry of long guns in places where concealed handguns aren’t allowed. 

Rep. Christine Hunchofsky, D-Parkland, said her bill (HB 63) is intended to close a “perceived loophole” created by the 1st District Court of Appeal’s ruling in a case known as McDaniels v. State of Florida. A three-judge panel of the Tallahassee-based court found that the state’s open-carry ban was incompatible with the nation’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

“Right now, everybody’s scrambling. We have differing opinions and we just want to bring some clarity to this, and especially given the time we’re in, we need to have this clarity,” said Hunchofsky, who is slated to take over as House minority leader after the 2026 elections.

Without a legislative fix, the ruling might allow people to openly carry rifles, shotguns and other long guns into places that are off-limits to handguns, including courthouses, legislative meetings, school board meetings, jails, police stations and bars. Hunchofsky said that lawmakers never intended to allow guns to be brought into such spaces.

House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, have not indicated whether they intend to address the issue during the session that begins Jan. 13.

An effort to bring the parameters of open carry in line with the current contours of the concealed carry law would probably get at least some bipartisan support, but any attempt to establish new “gun-free zones” is going to run into a buzzsaw of opposition among rank-and-file members in both the House and Senate, as well as from Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

What about the issue of under-21s and their right to keep and bear arms? I have a sneaking suspicion that Albritton may point to the ongoing litigation over the issue as a reason for lawmakers to sit on their hands once more. The Supreme Court is slated to discuss a number of challenges to sale and carry bans for adults under 21 at its November 14 conference, including NRA v. Glass‘s challenge to Florida’s ban on gun sales to young adults. If SCOTUS grants cert to one or more of these cases, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Albritton argue that lawmakers should hold off on making any moves until the justices have addressed the issue of under-21s and their 2A rights. 

If SCOTUS doesn’t take one or more of these cases and allows the status quo to remain in effect, Albritton can argue that the Court apparently doesn’t have a problem with these restrictions and use that as an excuse to keep reform and repeal bills bottled up yet again. 

I think we will see some legislative action on open carry next session, and Second Amendment advocates are going to have to fight to keep that practice from being heavily regulated by lawmakers. At this point, I don’t expect Albritton to allow any bills repealing the under-21 gun bans to move forward in the Senate, though I would love to be proven wrong. 

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

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