Florida AG Says Bump-Stock Ban Violates Second Amendment

Attorney General James Uthmeier's legal opinion argues the 2018 state law restricting bump stocks conflicts with federal Supreme Court precedent.

Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Law

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a centered state capitol dome silhouette in deep red and cream, evoking the state's contested gun law. — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a legal opinion declaring the state's 2018 bump-stock ban unconstitutional, though the law remains in effect. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Should Florida keep its state ban on bump stocks?

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has issued a legal opinion concluding the state's 2018 bump-stock ban violates the Second Amendment, and declared that executive branch officials cannot lawfully enforce it. His office also said it will not defend convictions under the ban, though the statute remains in effect.

Why it matters

Attorney General opinions are advisory and do not bind courts, so the ban stays on the books unless lawmakers repeal it or a court strikes it down. The opinion puts Florida's law in direct tension with state enforcement, affecting how residents who own such devices may be treated.

The Florida Attorney General's opinion cites a federal ATF estimate of more than half a million bump stocks in private circulation. Violations of the statute carry a third-degree felony penalty, with a five-year prison sentence, and the opinion's reasoning rests on the Supreme Court's 2024 Garland v. Cargill ruling, which treated a bump-stock-equipped rifle as firing one shot per trigger function. Whether courts will adopt that reasoning for Florida's ban has not been decided.

The players

James Uthmeier

Florida's Attorney General, who issued the legal opinion declaring the state's bump-stock ban unconstitutional and said his office will not defend convictions under it.

The details

The opinion, announced by Uthmeier on social media, applies the U.S. Supreme Court's Bruen framework and argues the law's broad language restricts trigger enhancements used by gun owners for lawful purposes. The statute, Florida Statute Section 790.222, was enacted in 2018 as part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act and covers any conversion kit, tool, accessory, or device used to increase a firearm's rate of fire.

2017: The Las Vegas massacre, in which the gunman used bump stocks, is cited by supporters of the ban.
2018: Florida enacts the bump-stock ban as part of the Public Safety Act following the Parkland shooting.
2024: The U.S. Supreme Court decides Garland v. Cargill.
2025: A legislative repeal effort dies in committee.
2026: A repeal bill dies in committee.

Political Context

The opinion builds on the Supreme Court's 2024 Garland v. Cargill ruling, which held that a rifle with a bump stock fires only one shot per trigger function and is not a machine gun. Florida's 2018 statute, passed after the Parkland shooting, predates that decision and now faces a state-level challenge grounded in it.

Florida residents who own bump stocks remain subject to the statute's third-degree felony penalty unless lawmakers repeal it or a court strikes it down. The attorney general's opinion does not change enforcement obligations on its own, since opinions are advisory and do not bind courts.

The takeaway

A state attorney general's opinion can signal a legal challenge without changing the law itself, so readers should track whether the statute is litigated or repealed. Advisory opinions carry weight in public debate but do not override enacted statutes.