Red State Ends Legal Fight With NRA By Conceding Gun Law Violates Second Amendment

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. (RELATED: Red State Attorney General Puts Homeowners’ Association On Notice Over Gun Ban)

“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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