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Daley, Guttenberg Condemn FL Attorney General’s Refusal to Defend Concealed Carry Age Restriction 4

Fred Guttenberg and Dan Daley {Facebook}

State Rep. Dan Daley and Parkland gun safety activist Fred Guttenberg on Monday blasted Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier for what they say is his refusal to defend a state law that forbids people ages 18 to 21 from carrying a concealed firearm.

The statute has been in effect since 1987 and remains Florida law unless repealed by the Legislature or invalidated by a final appellate court ruling, said Daley (D-Coral Springs). A Broward County trial court recently ruled the law unconstitutional in a case involving an 18-year-old charged with carrying a concealed firearm. That ruling is now under appeal before Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal, where the Attorney General’s Office would typically represent the state in the case.

Instead, the state Attorney General has notified the court that his office will not pursue the appeal, according to Daley. Uthmeier has also refused to allow the Broward State Attorney’s Office in the 17th Judicial Circuit to defend the statute on the state’s behalf, Daley said. As a result, no state entity is currently defending a law that remains on the books, he said.

“This is not how our system of government works,” Daley said Monday. “While our appointed Attorney General might not be aware, he does not have the authority to abandon a state law simply because he disagrees with it. A single trial court ruling does not erase a statute, and until there is a final appellate decision, Florida law must be defended.”

Daley said the state Attorney General’s actions go beyond declining to argue the appeal.

“What makes this even more troubling,” Daley continued, “is that the Attorney General is not only refusing to defend the law himself, but is actively preventing others from doing so. That is an extraordinary overreach.”

Daley called on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to intervene.

“I am calling on Governor DeSantis to intervene here. The Governor has previously removed duly elected state attorneys for far less—based solely on statements about enforcement discretion,” Daley said. “Yet his hand-picked Attorney General, who has never been elected by the people of Florida, is now openly refusing to defend state law and blocking others from doing so. That double standard undermines the rule of law and should concern every single Floridian.”

Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime Guttenberg was killed in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in Parkland, also criticized the Attorney General’s decision.

“As a father who lost my daughter, Jaime, to gun violence, I am deeply disturbed by the Attorney General’s refusal to defend Florida’s concealed carry law for 18-to-21-year-olds. Laws like this exist to protect our communities and save lives,” Guttenberg said.

“Ignoring or refusing to defend the law doesn’t make people safer; instead, it directly puts more Floridians, especially young adults, at risk. No single official should be able to decide which laws are worth defending, especially when those laws are designed to protect the public from gun violence.” Guttenberg continued. “They are doing this in the shadows hoping to avoid public comment. This is an anti-democratic approach to governing. I urge Governor DeSantis to step in and ensure that this law is defended. The safety of our children, our families, and our communities depends on it.”

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Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.