March For Our Lives is ‘relieved’ that a bill stalled out and has failed to lower the gun-buying age to 18 years old.
“HB 133 was a dangerous attempt to roll back one of the most important gun safety reforms passed in the immediate aftermath of the Parkland tragedy,” said Jaclyn Corin, the anti-gun violence organization’s Executive Director and Parkland survivor, in a statement. “The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act was created to protect students, educators, and communities after seventeen lives were stolen, and dismantling this law would have dishonored that hard-fought progress.”
Friday was Sine Die, ending the 60-day Regular Session although lawmakers will return for a Special Session to finish the budget.
HB 133 drew fierce opposition from anti-gun advocates, the League of Women Voters and high school students who spoke out against the bill during its committee stops.
The House passed HB 133 with a vote of 74-37 in January after an emotionally charged debate. Several lawmakers speaking out against HB 133 had been local leaders at the time of the 2008 school shooting.
A similar bill also failed in the 2025 Legislative Session with the same fate of passing in the House but not getting heard in the Senate.
“While we’re relieved to see this bill stall, we must remain vigilant and continue advocating for the safety of our communities,” Corin said.
Bill Sponsor Rep. Tyler Sirois argued lowering the gun age from 21 to 18 — which carried bipartisan support in the Republican-controlled Legislature at the time — was the “wrong public policy for Florida to pursue.”
“I am someone who believes firmly in our Constitution, firmly in our Second Amendment. … I view this legislation as the correct public policy for the state and offer it as a way for families and individuals to keep themselves safe by restoring the rights of 18-year-olds to buy long guns,” said the Merritt Island Republican on the House floor this year.
