- Press Release
Gun Safety Groups Demand Florida Senate President Block Bill Reversing Post-Parkland Protections
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: [email protected]
10+ Organizations Release Open Letter Demanding Leadership Block Bill That Would Arm Teenagers, Which 80% of Floridians Oppose
TALLAHASSEE, FL, December 19, 2025 — Today, a coalition of 12 gun violence prevention organizations released an open letter to Senate President Ben Albritton urging him to block House Bill 133 (HB 133), legislation that would lower the minimum age to purchase rifles and long guns from 21 to 18.
The bill would reverse protections enacted after the 2018 Parkland shooting, when a 19-year-old legally purchased an AR-15 and murdered 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. That bipartisan law closed the loophole that allowed the teenage shooter to arm himself with an assault rifle—a protection HB 133 would dismantle.
Despite 80% of Floridians opposing the measure, HB 133 recently advanced through two House committees and is positioned for a full House vote when the legislative session begins January 13.
The evidence against lowering the purchase age is overwhelming. Research shows 18-20-year-olds commit gun homicides at triple the rate of older adults and face the highest rates of suicide attempts involving firearms. This April, a 20-year-old opened fire at Florida State University, killing two people and wounding six others—a stark reminder of the deadly consequences when young adults access firearms.
The coalition calls on Senate President Ben Albritton to refuse to file a companion bill to HB 133, as the Senate has done for the past three years.
March for Our Lives Executive Director and Parkland survivor Jackie Corin said:
“Lawmakers want to make it easier for teenagers to buy AR-15s, the same weapon a 19-year-old used to murder 17 of my classmates and teachers. After that horror, Florida raised the minimum age to purchase a gun to 21. Leaders looked survivors in the eye and promised: never again. That law has saved lives.
Rolling it back is a betrayal. This is not about freedom or rights. It is about profit. The gun industry wants younger customers to grow its market, and some lawmakers are willing to help, even if it puts students in danger.
Young people in Florida deserve to grow up without wondering whether the teenager sitting next to them can legally buy a weapon of war. We call on state leaders to block HB 133 and to honor the promises they made to our communities and to the lives already lost.”
Newtown Action Alliance Chairwoman Po Murray said:
“Florida lawmakers stood with Parkland families when they raised the gun purchase age to 21. That law has saved lives. Lowering it now is extremely dangerous and dishonors the victims who were already killed by individuals under age 21. Across the country, some of the deadliest school shooters and mass shooters have been under 21-years-old — in Parkland, Uvalde, Buffalo and Sandy Hook. As a neighbor of the 20-year-old Sandy Hook shooter, I know exactly what happens when young people access high-powered weapons. Floridians overwhelmingly oppose HB 133. State leaders must protect children over gun sales, listen to the survivors, and stop this reckless bill.”
COALITION SIGNATORIES
March For Our Lives
Newtown Action Alliance
Ban Assault Weapons NOW
Brady Florida
Brady Sarasota
Team ENOUGH
Community Safety Collective
Let Life Live, Inc.
Florida National Organization for Women
League of Women Voters Florida
The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus
STOP Moms for Liberty
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