TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After a landmark case was filed last year against the state, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that a longstanding gun rule will soon be struck down.
Uthmeier made the declaration on Friday morning via social media, saying that his office is settling in a landmark federal lawsuit against the state’s three-day waiting period for gun buyers.
“Every government office, including mine, exists to protect your God-given rights as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution,” Uthmeier wrote.
Every government office, including mine, exists to protect your God-given rights as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) June 5, 2026
That’s why we’re settling a landmark federal case that declares Florida’s 3-day firearm purchase waiting period unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. https://t.co/9ZSZjhTO3m
The lawsuit Uthmeier referred to was brought on last year in part by the NRA, which contends that the mandatory waiting period doesn’t withstand constitutional scrutiny.
Court records filed on Friday show that Uthmeier declined to defend the rule, instead pushing for the court to strike the provision down as unconstitutional.
Under current rules, anyone in Florida who purchases a firearm is required to wait at least three days (excluding weekends and holidays) before actually receiving the firearm into their possession, with some exceptions.
This applies even if a background check is completed and approved right away.
“Law-abiding Floridians should never be delayed form exercising their fundamental rights,” NRA-ILA Executive Director John Commerford said. “This is a major victory, and we look forward to the court permanently striking down this restriction.”
🚨 LEGAL UPDATE: Today, the parties in the NRA’s challenge to Florida’s firearm waiting period law jointly filed an Offer of Judgment asking the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida to declare the law unconstitutional and permanently enjoin its enforcement. pic.twitter.com/n7qhLZ3RWn
— NRA (@NRA) June 5, 2026
Court records show that the waiting period was first added to the Florida Constitution back in the 1990s, though it only applied to handguns at the time.
But in 2018, then-Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation that expanded the waiting period to include all firearms — not just handguns — after a deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
This news also comes after Uthmeier pressured an HOA in Port St. Lucie to stop enforcing a new rule that prohibited anyone from carrying firearms into common areas.
Meanwhile, you can find the original complaint below: