F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 291 2024
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to weapons and firearms; providing a
3 short title; creating s. 790.0653, F.S.; providing
4 definitions; requiring a background check on every
5 sale or other transfer of a firearm; requiring
6 background checks on all persons involved in firearm
7 sales or other transfers; requiring firearm sales or
8 other transfers to be conducted through, and processed
9 by, a licensed dealer; authorizing a fee; providing
10 exceptions; providing criminal penalties; requiring
11 the investing law enforcement agency to report certain
12 violations to the Attorney General; providing
13 applicability; amending s. 790.174, F.S.; revising
14 requirements for the safe storage of firearms;
15 providing and revising definitions; revising criminal
16 penalties for violations; providing exceptions;
17 amending s. 790.175, F.S.; requiring firearms to be
18 sold by dealers with trigger locks or gun cases;
19 providing exceptions; revising warnings to be posted
20 in gun dealerships; requiring certain materials to be
21 given to gun purchasers; requiring a purchaser to sign
22 a specified statement; providing record retention
23 requirements for dealers; providing construction;
24 providing criminal penalties; creating s. 790.223,
25 F.S.; providing definitions; prohibiting specified
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26 acts involving unfinished firearm frames or receivers;
27 providing criminal penalties; providing applicability;
28 prohibiting certain actions leading to the assembly of
29 a firearm; prohibiting certain activities involving a
30 three-dimensional printer or computer numerical
31 control milling machine that has the primary or
32 intended function of manufacturing or assembling
33 firearms or related items; providing exceptions;
34 providing construction; providing an effective date.
35
36 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
37
38 Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Responsible Gun
39 Ownership Act."
40 Section 2. Section 790.0653, Florida Statutes, is created
41 to read:
42 790.0653 Transfers of firearms; transfer through licensed
43 dealer required.—
44 (1) As used in this section, the term:
45 (a) "Background check" means the process described in 18
46 U.S.C. s. 922(t) and s. 790.065 of using the National Instant
47 Criminal Background Check System and other systems to determine
48 that a person is not prohibited from possessing or receiving a
49 firearm under federal or state law.
50 (b) "Family member" means a spouse, whether by
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51 consanguinity, adoption, or step-relation or any of the
52 following relations:
53 1. Parent;
54 2. Child;
55 3. Sibling;
56 4. Grandparent; or
57 5. Grandchild.
58 (c) "Firearm" has the same meaning as in s. 790.001 and
59 includes any handgun, rifle, or shotgun or any completed or
60 unfinished frame or receiver.
61 (d) "Licensed dealer" means a person who holds a federal
62 firearms license issued pursuant to 18 U.S.C. s. 923(a).
63 (e) "Person" means any individual, corporation, trust,
64 company, firm, partnership, association, club, organization,
65 society, joint stock company, or other legal entity.
66 (f) "Purchaser or other transferee" means an unlicensed
67 person who wishes or intends to receive a firearm from another
68 unlicensed person.
69 (g) "Sale" means the sale, delivery, or passing of
70 ownership or control of a firearm for a fee or other
71 consideration.
72 (h) "Seller or other transferor" means an unlicensed
73 person who wishes or intends to transfer a firearm to another
74 unlicensed person.
75 (i) "Transfer" means to furnish, give, lend, deliver, or
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76 otherwise provide, with or without consideration.
77 (j) "Unfinished frame or receiver" means a forging,
78 casting, printing, extrusion, machined body, or similar item
79 that is:
80 1. Designed to or may readily be completed, assembled, or
81 otherwise converted to function as a frame or receiver; or
82 2. Marketed or sold to the public to become or be used as
83 the frame or receiver of a functional firearm, rifle, or shotgun
84 once completed, assembled, or otherwise converted.
85
86 However, the term does not include a component designed and
87 intended for use in an antique weapon.
88 (k) "Unlicensed person" means a person who is not a
89 licensed dealer.
90 (2) All persons involved in firearm sales or other
91 transfers, in whole or in part, shall be subject to background
92 checks unless specifically exempted by state or federal law. If
93 the person involved in the firearm sale or other transfer, in
94 whole or in part, is a corporation or any entity other than an
95 individual person, the principal individual or individuals
96 involved in such sale or other transfer on behalf of the
97 corporation or other entity shall be subject to background
98 checks unless specifically exempted by federal law. A person may
99 not sell or otherwise transfer a firearm unless:
100 (a) The person is a licensed dealer;
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101 (b) The purchaser or other transferee is a licensed
102 dealer; or
103 (c) The requirements of subsection (3) are met.
104 (3) If neither party to a prospective firearm sale or
105 other transfer is a licensed dealer, the parties to the
106 transaction shall complete the sale or other transfer through a
107 licensed dealer as follows:
108 (a) The seller or other transferor and the purchaser or
109 other transferee shall appear jointly with the firearm at a
110 licensed dealer and request that the licensed dealer conduct a
111 background check on the purchaser or other transferee.
112 (b) A licensed dealer who agrees to facilitate a
113 background check pursuant to this section shall process the sale
114 or other transfer as if he or she were transferring the firearm
115 from the licensed dealer's own inventory to the purchaser or
116 other transferee, complying with all requirements of federal and
117 state law that would apply if he or she were the seller or other
118 transferor of the firearm, including all background checks and
119 recordkeeping requirements.
120 (c) The seller or other transferor and the purchaser or
121 other transferee shall each complete, sign, and submit all state
122 and federal forms necessary to process the background check and
123 otherwise complete the sale or other transfer pursuant to this
124 section, and the licensed dealer shall indicate on the forms
125 that the sale or other transfer is between unlicensed persons.
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126 (d) This section does not prevent the seller or other
127 transferor from removing the firearm from the premises of the
128 licensed dealer while the background check is being conducted or
129 during the applicable waiting period, provided that the seller
130 or other transferor returns to the business premises of the
131 licensed dealer and delivers the firearm to the licensed dealer
132 before completion of the sale or other transfer.
133 (e) A licensed dealer or a seller or other transferor may
134 not sell or otherwise transfer a firearm to a purchaser or other
135 transferee if the results of the background check indicate that
136 the purchaser or other transferee is prohibited from possessing
137 or receiving a firearm under federal or state law.
138 (f) A licensed dealer who agrees to conduct a background
139 check may charge a reasonable fee not to exceed the
140 administrative costs incurred by the licensed dealer for
141 facilitating the sale or other transfer of the firearm, plus
142 applicable fees pursuant to federal and state law.
143 (4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to the following:
144 (a) A law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(1)
145 or corrections agency, or a law enforcement officer or
146 correctional officer, as defined in s. 943.10(1) and (2),
147 respectively, vested with the authority to bear arms, acting
148 within the course and scope of his or her employment or official
149 duties.
150 (b) A United States Marshals Service officer, United
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151 States Armed Forces or National Guard member, or federal
152 official vested with the authority to bear arms, acting within
153 the course and scope of his or her employment or official
154 duties.
155 (c) A gunsmith who receives a firearm solely for the
156 purposes of service or repair who returns the firearm to its
157 lawful owner.
158 (d) A common carrier, warehouseman, or other person
159 engaged in the business of transportation or storage, to t he
160 extent that the receipt of any firearm is in the ordinary course
161 of business and not for the personal use of any such person.
162 (e) A person who is not prohibited from possessing or
163 receiving a firearm under state or federal law who has
164 temporarily transferred a firearm:
165 1. Solely for the purpose of shooting at targets, if the
166 transfer occurs on the premises of a sport shooting range
167 authorized by the governing body of the jurisdiction in which
168 the range is located, or, if no such authorization is requ ired,
169 operated consistently with local law in such jurisdiction, and
170 the firearm is at all times kept within the premises of the
171 sport shooting range;
172 2. While the person is accompanying the lawful owner of
173 the firearm and using the firearm for lawful hunting purposes,
174 if hunting is legal in all places where the person possesses the
175 firearm and the person holds all licenses and permits required
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176 for such hunting;
177 3. While participating in a lawfully organized competition
178 involving the use of a firearm; or
179 4. While in the presence of the seller or other
180 transferor.
181 (f) A family member of the seller or other transferor.
182 This paragraph does not apply if the lawful owner or family
183 member knows or has reasonable cause to believe that federal or
184 state law prohibits the family member from purchasing or
185 possessing a firearm, or the seller or other transferor knows or
186 has reasonable cause to believe that the family member is likely
187 to use the firearm for unlawful purposes.
188 (g) An executor, administrator, trustee, or personal
189 representative of an estate or trust that occurs by operation of
190 law upon the death of the former lawful owner of the firearm.
191 (h) The temporary transfer of a firearm if such transfer
192 is to prevent immediate or imminent death or great bodily harm
193 to one's self or others, provided that the person to whom the
194 firearm is transferred is not prohibited from possessing a
195 firearm under state or federal law and the temporary transfer
196 lasts no longer than necessary to prevent such immediate or
197 imminent death or great bodily harm.
198 (i) The sale or other transfer of an antique firearm.
199 (5) A person who violates this section commits a felony of
200 the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s.
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201 775.083, or s. 775.084.
202 (6) In addition to any other penalty or remedy, the
203 investigating law enforcement agency shall report any violation
204 of this section committed by a licensed dealer to the At torney
205 General.
206 (7) This section does not apply to any firearm modified to
207 render it permanently inoperable.
208 Section 3. Section 790.174, Florida Statutes, is amended
209 to read:
210 790.174 Safe storage of firearms required.—
211 (1)(a) A person who stores or leaves, on a premise under
212 his or her control, a loaded firearm, as defined in s. 790.001,
213 and who knows or reasonably should know that a minor is likely
214 to gain access to the firearm without the lawful permission of
215 the minor's parent or the person having charge of the minor, or
216 without the supervision required by law, shall keep the firearm
217 in a securely locked box or container or in a location which a
218 reasonable person would believe to be secure or shall secure