Art. I, § 8, Fla. Const. · Article I. DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
Right to bear arms.
Text — As revised in 1968 and subsequently amended (Online Sunshine, retrieved 2026-10-04)
(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.
(b) There shall be a mandatory period of three days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, between the purchase and delivery at retail of any handgun. For the purposes of this section, “purchase” means the transfer of money or other valuable consideration to the retailer, and “handgun” means a firearm capable of being carried and used by one hand, such as a pistol or revolver. Holders of a concealed weapon permit as prescribed in Florida law shall not be subject to the provisions of this paragraph.
(c) The legislature shall enact legislation implementing subsection (b) of this section, effective no later than December 31, 1991, which shall provide that anyone violating the provisions of subsection (b) shall be guilty of a felony.
(d) This restriction shall not apply to a trade in of another handgun.
Notes and commentary — not constitutional text
History
Am. C.S. for S.J.R. 43, 1989; adopted 1990.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As revised in 1968 and subsequently amended (Online Sunshine, retrieved 2026-10-04)
- Official file
- https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?Mode=Constitution&Submenu=3&Tab=statutes
- Text hash
- sha256 8dcef5a3ebb0f5826c29932b1cdfc9369e820eddb7fdf98c4654906b81a8781a
- Composed by
- compose_v2.py 2026-10-04: the Legislature's structured HTML read in document order; verify_v2.py's independent reading agrees character for character
- composed from the Legislature's structured HTML (one source of text; no PDF extraction); a second, independent reading of the same bytes agrees character for character
Cited by 2 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Art. I, § 8, Fla. Const.. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
The Florida Statutes
- § 790.333, Fla. Stat.Sport shooting and training range protection; liability; claims, expenses, and fees; penalties; preemption; construction.Printed as s. 8, Art. I of the State Constitution
- § 790.335, Fla. Stat.Prohibition of registration of firearms; electronic records.Printed as s. 8, Art. I of the State Constitution
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.