The country needs more pro-gun attorneys general like Florida’s

by Lee Williams Given how he has restored the Second Amendment closer to the Founders’ original intent, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s short time in office has been simply incredible. In fact, he has become a one-man Second Amendment restorer for what used to be called the “Gunshine State.” You need to understand how things

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by Lee Williams

Given how he has restored the Second Amendment closer to the Founders’ original intent, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s short time in office has been simply incredible. In fact, he has become a one-man Second Amendment restorer for what used to be called the “Gunshine State.”

You need to understand how things used to work before Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Uthmeier, his former chief of staff and general counsel, as Attorney General in 2025.

Pro-gun groups had to thoroughly plan, raise funds and then lobby individual politicians in order to make pro-gun changes, which took forever and was never guaranteed, even in the state’s Republican-dominated legislature. The pro-gun team had to play nice and sometimes almost beg lawmakers to restore Floridians’ Second Amendment rights. A large group of RINOs in the Miami area always made any real changes extremely difficult, as did certain legislative leaders—anti-gun Muppets who decided on their own that the time was not “right” to restore their constituents’ Second Amendment rights.

Uthmeier changed all of this without involving a single lawmaker.

In September of last year, Uthmeier ended a Florida state law that criminalized open carry.

He restored the rights of millions of Floridians with a single post on X.

Once a Florida Court of Appeals ruled that the state’s open-carry ban was unconstitutional, Uthmeier posted an important announcement.

“I’m issuing guidance to Florida’s prosecutors and law enforcement in light of the 1st DCA’s decision in McDaniels v. State,” Uthmeier posted on X. “Because no other appellate court has considered the constitutionality of Florida’s open carry ban since the SCOTUS decision in Bruen, the 1st DCA’s decision is binding on all Florida’s trial courts. Meaning that as of last week, open carry is the law of the state.”

Everytown did some pretty interesting reporting of Uthmeier’s decision, which simply blew their minds.

“Attorney General Uthmeier is refusing to defend a critical law, going against the advice of state law enforcement and ultimately, putting our lives at risk,” Jennifer Massey, a volunteer with the Florida chapter of Moms Demand Action, said in an Everytown story. “This is a complete dereliction of duty and at the end of the day, our kids, communities and law enforcement will pay the price while we strip a decades-old law from the books meant to help keep us all safe.”

When Demanding Moms accuse you of “dereliction of duty” you must be doing something right, right?

Last week Uthmeier, who is only 38, did it again. He ended Florida’s three-day waiting period for firearm purchases made by those without a Florida concealed-carry license, and once again he announced the change on X.

“Every government office, including mine, exists to protect your God-given rights as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. That’s why we’re settling a landmark federal case that declares Florida’s 3-day firearm purchase waiting period unconstitutional under the Second Amendment,” he posted on X.

Simply put, Uthmeier gave all Floridians equal rights regardless of whether they purchased any state-issued paperwork.

Gun rights for every adult

When Uthmeier defended the gun rights of 18, 19 and 20-year-old Floridians, anti-gun politicians, the legacy media and a Parkland parent went absolutely bonkers.

Uthmeier intervened in a teen’s criminal case by asking a state appeals court to uphold the defendant’s right to carry—a move that even the anti-gun media was forced to admit constituted a victory for Floridians’ gun rights.

At issue was a 1987 state law, which barred 18, 19 and 20-year-olds from carrying concealed firearms.

Uthmeier actually opposed state prosecutors, which mystified Florida’s anti-gun community, especially Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor, who asked Uthmeier for permission to get involved in the case. Pryor, who was elected in 2020, frequently mentioned “gun violence” whenever he spoke publicly.

Uthmeier refused Pryor’s request, which further blew the anti-gunners’ minds. They, of course, quickly turned to the media to strike back.

Several media stories were soon published, which included interviews with Pryor, who attacked Uthmeier’s decision for a host of frivolous reasons, none of which made any legal sense.

One Democratic state representative even asked Governor DeSantis to intervene, but DeSantis gave no sign he disagreed or opposed his AG’s decision.

Parkland parent Fred Guttenberg—an anti-gun advocate and frequent Second Amendment critic—accused Uthmeier of “undermining public safety efforts.”

Nondangerous Felons

Christopher Morgan was convicted in Pennsylvania in 2007 after he was caught carrying a firearm without a state license. Fifteen years later, he was stopped by a Florida officer, whom he told of a pistol in the center console of his car. Morgan was charged in Florida with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He had no other criminal history.

Before his trial in Florida, Morgan’s defense team made a motion that the state firearm law is “unconstitutional both facially and as applied to him.” However, the trial court denied his motion. Morgan then pleaded no contest to the felon in possession Florida charges but appealed his conviction. He was sentenced to two days in jail and court costs.

Uthmeier issued a response to Morgan’s appeal, which said that his conviction for possessing a firearm by a felon violated the Second Amendment.

In fact, he actually agreed with Morgan’s legal team.

“On studied reflection, the Attorney General has concluded that the conviction does indeed infringe Morgan’s right, as a nondangerous felon, to keep and bear arms,” Uthmeier wrote. “The state must therefore confess error and urge this Court to reverse.”

In the court document, Uthmeier spelled out that he is Florida’s “Chief Legal Officer,” and that he swore an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution.

“It is thus the Attorney General’s duty to admit when he believes the State has obtained a conviction in violation of the Constitution,” he wrote.

Takeaways

So far, Uthmeier has restored the gun rights of nondangerous felons, 18, 19 and 20-year-olds, anyone who opts to carry a firearm either openly or concealed, and anyone who does not want to wait three days before buying a gun.

The Second Amendment has been a constitutional right since 1791. If any state officials now try and prevent someone from exercising their constitutional rights, they may soon find themselves in court, explaining why they decided it was okay to illegally violate someone’s constitutional rights.

Floridians have one man to thank for this—Attorney General James Uthmeier.

Let’s hope his conduct serves as an example for attorneys general in other states.