FLORIDA HB 133 and SB 896/HB 757 are dangerous bills – reversing bi-partisan, common-sense precedent … amplify your opposition.

January 14, 2026

Dear Members of the Florida State Legislature,

We write as a coalition representing survivors of gun violence, students, educators, parents, public safety professionals, and gun safety advocates across Florida and the nation. We urge you to oppose a growing slate of dangerous bills that would roll back critical public safety protections enacted after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

Specifically, we call on you to reject HB 133, an effort to weaken Florida’s minimum age law for firearm purchases and to vote NO on Senate Bill 896 and House Bill 757, which would expand the so-called “guardian program” to college and university campuses.

Please Do Not Lower the Minimum Age to Purchase Firearms

In 2018, following the Parkland tragedy—where a 19-year-old legally purchased an AR-15 and killed 17 people—Florida lawmakers from both parties acted responsibly and raised the minimum age to purchase rifles and long guns to 21. That law was designed to save lives, and it has done exactly that.

Research consistently shows that 18–20-year-olds commit gun homicides at rates far higher than older adults, and neuroscience confirms that impulse control and judgment are still developing well into the early twenties. This same age group also faces elevated risks of suicide, and access to firearms dramatically increases the likelihood that a suicide attempt will be fatal.

Rolling back this law would once again place lethal weapons into the hands of teenagers at their most vulnerable developmental stage. Floridians understand this risk—nearly 80% of voters oppose weakening the minimum age law—and survivors have made clear that this protection is not symbolic; it is lifesaving.

Please Say NO to Guns on College Campuses: SB 896 / HB 757

We are equally alarmed by SB 896 and HB 757, which propose expanding Florida’s “guardian program” to college and university campuses—allowing armed faculty, staff, and students to carry firearms in academic settings. Florida statute currently prohibits firearms from being carried onto college or university buildings and facilities.

Let us be clear: no one who works or learns on college campuses is asking for this.

  • University presidents have repeatedly opposed guns on campus since 2015.

  • Campus police and safety professionals warn that firearms increase the risk of accidental shootings, especially in environments where alcohol use is common.

  • There is no evidence that expanding armed guardians into higher education improves outcomes.

  • Students want to focus on learning—not on who around them might be armed.

  • Faculty want to teach and conduct research, not be placed in situations that could escalate into deadly encounters.

  • Counselors and behavioral intervention teams know that introducing guns into high-stress academic environments creates a lethal risk for students struggling with depression, anxiety, or suicidal ideation.

Multiple studies confirm that armed campuses do not make students safer. They increase confusion during emergencies, complicate law enforcement response, and raise the likelihood of tragic, preventable outcomes.

So who benefits from these bills? The gun lobby. And their priority is not campus safety—it is expanding gun access and increasing sales, regardless of the consequences.

The Florida State Legislature Must Not Forget the Lessons of Parkland

Florida made solemn promises after Parkland—to survivors, to families, and to the public—that meaningful change would follow unimaginable loss. Weakening the minimum age law and flooding college campuses with firearms betrays those promises.

We urge you to:

  • Protect the minimum age law by rejecting HB 133

  • Vote NO on SB 896 / HB 757

  • Honor the bipartisan commitments made in 2018

  • Put public safety ahead of gun industry profits

Florida’s students are watching. Survivors are watching. The nation is watching.

Keep the age 21 – and Keep Guns Off Campus.