Red State Ends Legal Fight With NRA By Conceding Gun Law Violates Second Amendment
Attorney General James Uthmeier of Florida announced that the state will settle a federal lawsuit challenging Florida’s three-day waiting period for firearm purchases. The National Rifle Association filed the case in August 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, arguing the waiting period violates the Second amendment, including situations where the background check clears immediately.
Uthmeier said on social media that the settlement will end the dispute by declaring the waiting period unconstitutional.The law traces back to a 1998 referendum that approved “Amendment 12,” and it was later expanded after the 2018 Parkland school shooting. Separately, Florida’s attorney for Alachua County was reported to have decided not to enforce the county’s five-day waiting period due to the pending agreement.
Republican Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Friday that the state would settle a legal challenge in a Second Amendment case.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) filed the suit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in August 2025, seeking to invalidate the state’s three-day waiting period on Second Amendment grounds. Uthmeier announced his office’s decision to end the legal battle in a statement.
“Every government office, including mine, exists to protect your God-given rights as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution,” Uthmeier posted on X. “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.”
Every government office, including mine, exists to protect your God-given rights as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
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
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) June 5, 2026
The waiting period was initially passed as Amendment 12 during a referendum held during the 1998 midterm elections with 72% of the vote, according to Ballotpedia. The measure was later expanded after the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, by legislation signed by then- Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
Florida State Attorney Brian Kramer notified Alachua County Thursday that he would not enforce its five-day waiting period on firearms purchases, citing the pending agreement, the Alachua Chronicle reported.
The NRA’s suit questioned the waiting period’s applicability, even when the background check was immediately passed.
“With limited exceptions, Florida Statute § 790.0655 makes it unlawful for any person who sells a firearm to deliver the purchaser’s property to them until a minimum of three days after the seller has initiated a background check, even if a clean background check comes back immediately,” the August said.
Brady United, which supported the passage of Amendment 12 in 1998, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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