A controversial proposal to repeal a law preventing people under age 21 from buying rifles and shotguns in Florida is positioned to go to the full House.
The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted to approve the bill, which would lower the minimum age to purchase rifles and other long guns from 21 to 18.
The Legislature and then-Gov. Rick Scott increased the minimum age after the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people.
In supporting the bill, State Rep. Tyler Sirois pointed to people who are under 21 and want to have guns for safety.
"We are correcting an inequity with this legislation. Why is it that you can give a long gun as a gift, but the single mom who lives in the rough part of town can’t go buy one to protect herself and her family? That is the public policy question that we are putting to you today," Sirois said.
Broward County School Board Chairwoman Debbi Hixon, whose husband Chris Hixon was killed in Parkland, said a repeal of the law would indicate lawmakers have forgotten about the victims.
"People that are aged 18 to 20 are three times more likely to commit gun homicides than those 21 years and older. This bill will not make our communities any safer," Hixon said.
The House approved repeal bills in 2023 and 2024, but the measures did not get through the Senate.
A Senate bill that would roll back the age limit has not been heard in committees this year.
READ MORE: Florida gun rights groups push to repeal the ban on selling firearms and ammo in a local emergency
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