TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The U.S. Department of Justice could take a significant lesson from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who demonstrated that, even as the state’s top law enforcement official, there are gun control laws that are unconstitutional and indefensible.
On Friday, June 5, the pro-Constitution and pro-gun attorney general moved to settle a lawsuit addressing Florida’s 1990s-era, three-day waiting period for firearms purchases, stating in an X post, “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.”
The office of the attorney general, along with the litigants in the suit, including the NRA in partnership with Mountain States Legal Foundation and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, jointly filed an offer of judgment with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, petitioning the court to declare the law unconstitutional and permanently enjoin enforcement.
“Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier, Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass, and the State Attorneys are standing up for Constitutional rights and their constituents,” said John Commerford, NRA-ILA executive director, in a statement. “By entering into this agreement with us, they have affirmed that Florida’s three-day firearm waiting period is unconstitutional and violates the Second Amendment. Law-abiding Floridians should never be delayed from exercising their fundamental rights. This is a major victory, and we look forward to the court permanently striking down this restriction.”
Plaintiffs filed the lawsuit against the state over the unconstitutional measure in August of 2025.
AG Uthmeier has set a strong pro-2A track record, and in the month of May alone, he sued the city of Jacksonville over an illegal gun registry and threatened legal action when a Florida homeowners’ association tried to illegally ban firearms.
In contrast, arms of the Department of Justice continue to defend gun control measures that would widely be considered unconstitutional and indefensible under the same criteria offered by AG Uthmeier, including the National Firearms Act, as we have documented in our DOJ Action Tracker.
