Politics & Government
FL Rep. Seeks To Lower Age For Buying Guns To 18: Reports
Florida Republican Rep. Bobby Payne filed House Bill 1223 on Thursday while an opponent called the bill "unsettling," per media reports.
FLORIDA — In a new measure, Florida Republican Rep. Bobby Payne is seeking to lower the state's minimum age to buy or transfer a gun from 21 to 18, per media reports and a filing through the House of Representatives.
Payne filed House Bill 1223 on Thursday alongside few co-sponsors. If passed and enacted, the new law would take effect July 1.
News Channel 8 reported Sunday HB 1223 would cancel former Gov. Rick Scott's 2018 law that required the minimum age of 21-years-old to buy a gun after a deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
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The Parkland shooting killed 17 students and staff members, ABC News reported. The accused gunman was 19-years-old at the time, WESH 2 reported.
Democratic Party Rep. Anna Eskamani, an opponent of HB 1223, called Payne's legislation "scary and unsettling" in the WESH 2 report.
Find out what's happening in Across Floridafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Read more via News Channel 8 and WESH 2.
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