TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A controversial bill that would lower the age to buy certain types of guns to 18 years old passed the Florida House on Wednesday. 

The latest version of the legislation, House Bill 759, would lower the minimum age to purchase rifles and other long guns from 21 to 18. Due to federal law, handguns would still be restricted to those 21 and older.

It passed Wednesday in a 78-34 vote on the House floor. A similar Senate bill (SB 920) has not yet been heard in committees.

“The ability to purchase and utilize a firearm is your constitutional right, and reinstating those rights is the right thing to do for Floridians,” Rep. Michelle Salzman (R-Escambia County), who sponsored the bill, said. “We must stop infringing on the constitutional rights of law-abiding adults who are old enough to serve in our military and make other significant life decisions.” 

Gov. Ron DeSantis has also said he would support changes to state gun laws, including lowering the age restriction.

While supporters of the bill believe it will restore Second Amendment rights for all adults, critics fall back on the reason the restrictions were passed in the first place.

Florida lawmakers and then-Gov. Rick Scott increased the minimum age for gun purchases to 21 after the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people.

Debra Hixon, chairwoman of the Broward County School Board whose husband Chris Hixon was killed in the Parkland shooting, previously told a House committee that a repeal of the law would mean lawmakers “have forgotten who my husband and the other 16 victims were.”

“I believe my job as a public servant is to make sure that my students are safe and that they get home every day,” she said. “I do believe that’s also your job as legislators for our state.”

If signed into law, the legislation would take effect on July 1, 2025.