TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A new bill filed in the Florida House seeks to shorten the mandatory waiting period for gun buyers to acquire a firearm from a licensed seller.
Currently, gun buyers are required to wait a minimum of three days, excluding weekends and holidays, or for the completion of a records check, before acquiring a firearm. The law states buyer must wait for “whichever occurs later.”
However, HB 17, filed by Rep. Dr. Joel Rudman (R-Okaloosa), would reverse that.
The bill maintains the mandatory three-day waiting period and records check, but changes the language to read “whichever occurs earlier.”
That means buyers could theoretically walk out with a new firearm in as little as three days without a records check or sooner with a completed records check.
Regardless if the bill passes, the waiting period does not apply in the following circumstances:
- When a firearm is being purchased by a holder of a concealed weapons permit,
- To a trade-in of another firearm,
- To the purchase of a rifle or shotgun, upon a person’s successfully completing a minimum of a 16-hour hunter safety course and possessing a hunter safety certification card,
- When a rifle or shotgun is being purchased by a law enforcement officer or correctional officer
If passed, the bill would take effect on July 1, 2024.
