Florida state Rep. Tyler Sirois has introduced new legislation that would lower the minimum age to buy a firearm in the state from 21 to 18.
The bill, known as HB 133, is set to be debated in the 2026 legislative session. It would reverse part of a law passed after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, which raised the purchase age for firearms to 21.
Under the current law, Floridians between 18 and 20 can own guns only if they receive them as gifts. Sirois’s bill would allow those same adults to purchase firearms directly, restoring their full Second Amendment rights.
The Bradenton Times noted that the 2018 restriction was passed during a wave of gun control legislation, despite strong opposition from gun owners and Republican lawmakers at the time.
In his bill’s preamble, Sirois wrote: “An act relating to minimum age for firearm purchase or transfer; …reducing the minimum age at which a person may purchase a firearm and the age of purchasers to which specified licensees are prohibited from selling or transferring a firearm; repealing an exception; providing an effective date.”
The measure is designed to bring state law in line with federal standards and constitutional rulings that affirm the right of adults over 18 to bear arms.
Gun rights advocates say the bill restores fairness and responsibility to Florida’s firearm laws. Supporters argue that 18-year-olds can vote, serve in the military, and sign contracts — and should therefore be trusted to buy and own firearms.
Critics of the 2018 law have also noted that raising the purchase age didn’t stop crime or mass violence but instead punished law-abiding citizens. They say adults under 21 should not be treated as second-class citizens when it comes to constitutional rights.
If the bill passes, Florida would join several other states moving to loosen restrictions and expand firearm freedoms in the wake of court challenges to age-based bans.
Sirois has not yet commented publicly beyond the filing, but his bill has already drawn attention from national Second Amendment groups. Many see it as part of a broader movement among Republicans to push back against what they call unconstitutional limits on lawful gun ownership.
The proposal also comes as courts continue to strike down gun control measures nationwide under the Supreme Court’s landmark Bruen decision, which emphasized that modern restrictions must align with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm rights.
For many conservatives, Sirois’s move represents a return to common sense. They argue that if 18-year-olds can carry weapons in defense of the nation, they should also have the right to defend themselves at home.
The bill will likely spark intense debate when the 2026 session begins, setting up another major test of Florida’s position on gun rights — and potentially giving the state’s young adults a new measure of freedom.