At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in gun sales and gun violence in America. The pandemic has exacerbated longstanding health, social, and economic inequities that are some of the drivers of gun violence. Now experts are concerned that gun violence will continue to increase as COVID-19 restrictions are removed and the hot summer heat begins to roll in.

Despite the concerns, currently Florida preemptive gun law prohibits local governments from regulating the “[…] purchase, sale, transfer, taxation, manufacture, ownership, possession, storage, and transportation thereof, to the state.” Now, effective July 1, 2021, Senate Bill 1844 has been enacted providing any prevailing plaintiff challenging local government gun ordinance the ability to sue for actual damages incurred up to $100,000.

Gun violence is a major public health crisis; yet on the federal and state level, it has been met with few gun control measures to prevent it. In 2020, Florida saw a 91% increase in gun background checks and witnessed 34 mass shootings. In 2021, with only five months left in the year, Florida has witnessed 21 mass shootings.

The trend in gun violence continues to rise and with the new preemptive law, many experts are concerned that local governments are being punished for implementing measures to curb gun violence. The plain language from the bill states that “written or unwritten policies are subject to provisions allowing for recovery of damages if such policies violate specified provisions.” Discussions have been raised about what type of “unwritten” policies may fall subject to this portion of the law. Thus, the question becomes, If Florida legislators preempt local government from enacting gun restrictions, then what will legislators implement to avoid common gun violence?