Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey
Florida Ban on Military-Style Firearms and Disqualifications for Firearm Possession Initiative (2020)
| Florida Ban on Military-Style Firearms and Disqualifications for Firearm Possession Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Firearms | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Florida Ban on Military-Style Firearms and Disqualifications for Firearm Possession Initiative (Initiative #18-03) was not on the ballot in Florida as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.[1]
The measure was designed to ban persons residing or entering the state from possessing military-style firearms. The measure would have defined military-style firearms as "any gun with a magazine capacity of more than seven rounds of ammunition or any weapon capable of firing in fully automatic mode, any weapon capable of being modified in any manner to fire in a fully automatic mode or any weapon classified as a sniper rifle."[1]
The measure would also have prohibited persons from possessing any firearm if the person had (a) been convicted of a felony; (b) been convicted of three or more misdemeanors; (c) his or her driver's license revoked for driving under the influence, reckless driving, or excessive speeding; (d) been subject to two or more domestic abuse emergency calls or investigations; (e) been diagnosed by a medical professional as psychologically disturbed; or (f) made any substantiated threat of violence against another person.[1]
The measure would have deleted the existing language of Section 8(a) of Article I of the Florida Constitution, which provides people with the constitutional right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The proposed title was as follows:[1]
| “ | Well Regulated Militia and Firearms - Stop the Killing[2] | ” |
Ballot summary
The proposed ballot summary was as follows:[1]
| “ | This Amendment recognizes the Florida National Guard and other organized police forces as the well-regulated militia of the State and authorizes them to keep and use military style weapons. Possession of military style weapons is prohibited except for the militia. Other persons convicted of various types of crimes or investigated for abuses are also prohibited from possessing guns or firearms.[2] | ” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article I, Florida Constitution
The measure would have amended Section 8(a) of Article I of the Florida Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added and struck-through text would have been deleted:[1]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
(a) The right of the people to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves and of the lawful authority of the state shall not be infringed, except that the manner of bearing arms may be regulated by law.
The people of Florida declare that a well-regulated militia is necessary for the security of the State and further designate the National Guard of the State of Florida and organized police forces as its militia. The Militia, while on active duty, while training or in their training facilities shall possess all types of weaponry and arms required to defend the State. The weapons shall include, but not limited to fully automatic weapons, assault weapons, large magazine weapons holding more than seven rounds of ammunition and magazines with capacity over seven rounds. No other person entering or residing in the State shall possess any weapon or firearm that functions like or has the capacity of a military style weapon. Military style weapon means any gun with a magazine capacity of more than seven rounds of ammunition or any weapon capable of firing in fully automatic mode, any weapon capable of being modified in any manner to fire in a fully automatic mode or any weapon classified as a sniper rifle. Any person other than the well-regulated militia who possesses such a gun or weapon, shall within one year of the enactment of this section surrender that gun or weapon to the local police or militia at which time that gun or weapon shall be destroyed. Possessing such a gun or weapon thereafter shall be a felony with punishment by up to one year in prison.
Further, to protect the population of the state no person shall possess a firearm of any kind if: 1) they have been convicted of a felony; 2) convicted of three or more misdemeanors; 3) had their drivers license suspended or revoked for driving under the influence, careless or reckless driving, or excessive speeding; 4) has been the subject of two or more domestic abuse emergency calls or investigations; 5) they are a person whose mental condition has been affirmed as temporarily or permanently psychologically disturbed by a person with a medical degree; 6) or if they are a person who has made any substantiated threat of violence against another person.
The provisions of this section are self-implementing and are immediately in effect upon adoption.[2]
Sponsors
Stop The Killing Committee filed the initiative.[1]
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Florida, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8% of the votes cast in the preceding presidential election. Florida also has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures equaling at least 8% of the district-wide vote in the last presidential election be collected from at least half (14) of the state's 28 congressional districts. Signatures remain valid until February 1 of an even-numbered year.[3] Signatures must be verified by February 1 of the general election year the initiative aims to appear on the ballot.
Proposed measures are reviewed by the state attorney general and state supreme court after proponents collect 25% of the required signatures across the state in each of one-half of the state's congressional districts (222,898 signatures for 2024 ballot measures). After these preliminary signatures have been collected, the secretary of state must submit the proposal to the Florida Attorney General and the Financial Impact Estimating Conference (FIEC). The attorney general is required to petition the Florida Supreme Court for an advisory opinion on the measure's compliance with the single-subject rule, the appropriateness of the title and summary, and whether or not the measure "is facially invalid under the United States Constitution."[4]
The requirements to get an initiative certified for the 2020 ballot:
- Signatures: 766,200 valid signatures
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification was February 1, 2020. As election officials have 30 days to check signatures, petitions should be submitted at least one month before the verification deadline.
In Florida, proponents of an initiative file signatures with local elections supervisors, who are responsible for verifying signatures. Supervisors are permitted to use random sampling if the process can estimate the number of valid signatures with 99.5% accuracy. Enough signatures are considered valid if the random sample estimates that at least 115% of the required number of signatures are valid.
Details about the initiative
See also
External links
- Florida Division of Elections Booklet: Proposed Constitutional Amendments 2020 General Election
- Initiative information
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Florida Department of Elections, "Initiative Information," accessed April 11, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Before the passage of Florida Senate Bill 1794 of 2020, signatures remained valid for a period of two years
- ↑ Florida State Senate, "Florida Senate Bill 1794," accessed April 13, 2020
 |
State of Florida Tallahassee (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
