The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice unanimously favored a bill 9-0 on Tuesday that would repeal a Florida Statute on the restriction of firearm or ammunition purchases during a declared state of emergency.
Sen. Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill) detailed his bill (SB 952) to the committee, which would repeal Statute 870.044. Reps. Monique Miller (R-Palm Bay) and Debbie Mayfield (R-Melbourne) filed an identical bill in the House.
"At most, this provision in state law is unconstitutional. At the least, it causes confusion, which we saw in the City of Okeechobee on September 26, 2024. On that day, an emergency ordinance was instituted and subsequently rescinded," Ingoglia said.
In a question from Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando), Ingoglia detailed the Okeechobee case, which occurred in response to Hurricane Helene, as a reason behind the legislation.
"During the hurricane state of emergency, they enacted an ordinance in the morning, I believe, stating that 'just letting everybody know' during this state of emergency, ammunition, gun sales, marketing is not allowed," Ingoglia said.
Ingoglia said the ordinance received pushback from Second Amendment supporters and was later repealed.
Guillermo Smith also asked Ingoglia about the current standard of firearm and ammunition restrictions by local officials during a state of emergency.
"The way the statute works is that if something is declared a state of emergency on a state basis then it's an automatic trigger of that. I think what the locals are doing are creating ordinances or ahead or within the state of emergency sort of like just reiterating or clarifying that there's no sale of ammunition, firearms, or marking of the firearms during that which creates a lot of confusion," Ingoglia said.
He also called language in the Statute "chilling" by having to say law-abiding citizens would not have their firearms confiscated during emergency measures. Ingoglia said the language "probably" violates the Second Amendment.
Sen. Jonathan Martin (R-Fort Myers) expressed support for the bill.
"It makes complete sense. I can't think of a more important time than an individual should have the right to go out and buy a firearm than a time when they feel that their life or their family's life or property is at risk," Martin said.
The bill now heads to the Committee on Community Affairs for consideration. If passed, it would take effect upon becoming law.
