HB 65, titled the “Responsible Gun Ownership Act,” would substantially expand Florida’s firearm regulation framework. The bill requires background checks for essentially all firearm sales and transfers between unlicensed persons, and it generally requires those transactions to be completed through a licensed dealer. It defines covered terms broadly, including completed and unfinished frames or receivers, and creates exceptions for law enforcement, military personnel, gunsmiths, common carriers, family transfers, temporary safety-related transfers, antique firearms, and certain other limited situations.
The bill also revises Florida’s safe-storage and retail-sale rules. It lowers the definition of “minor” in the safe-storage section to under 16, adds a “prohibited user” standard, and increases penalties when an unsecured firearm is accessed by a minor or prohibited person and then possessed or displayed in public or in a threatening manner. For retail sales, it would require dealers to include a trigger lock or gun case unless the buyer provides one, provide written warnings and safety materials, obtain signed compliance statements, and keep records for six years. It also increases penalties for repeated failures to provide required warnings.
A major additional component of the bill targets ghost guns and firearm manufacturing technology. It would prohibit the manufacture, sale, transfer, or possession of firearms and frames or receivers without valid serial numbers, with a possession ban beginning January 1, 2026. It would also ban undetectable firearms, restrict the use of 3D printers and CNC milling machines to manufacture firearms without a manufacturing license, and prohibit the sale or transfer of such equipment when its primary or intended function is firearm production. The bill includes carveouts for licensed manufacturers, law enforcement, military personnel, buyback programs, interstate travelers, and new residents who come into compliance within 90 days.
If enacted, HB 65 would amend or create several sections of the Florida Statutes, including new s. 790.0653 on private firearm transfers and new s. 790.223 on unfinished firearms, while revising ss. 790.174 and 790.175 on safe storage and dealer warnings. It would impose new criminal penalties ranging from second-degree misdemeanors to third-degree felonies, and it would require law enforcement to report certain dealer violations to the Attorney General. The bill’s effective date was set for October 1, 2025, though the bill was withdrawn prior to introduction.
The overall sentiment in the available record is difficult to measure because there were no committee transcripts or recorded votes, but the bill’s structure indicates a strong gun-safety and regulatory approach. The absence of debate records and the fact that it was withdrawn before introduction suggest it did not advance far enough to generate formal legislative support or opposition on the record. The most likely points of contention would have been the universal background-check requirement, the dealer-mediated transfer mandate, the serial-number and ghost-gun restrictions, and the limits on 3D printing and CNC firearm production, all of which would be viewed by supporters as public-safety measures and by opponents as burdens on lawful gun ownership and private transfers.
HB 65 would significantly expand state regulation of firearm sales, transfers, storage, and home manufacture. It would create a new statutory framework requiring most private firearm transfers to go through a licensed dealer and be subject to background checks, strengthen safe-storage obligations and penalties, require dealer-provided locks, warnings, and records, and criminalize possession and transfer of unserialized firearms, unfinished frames or receivers, and undetectable firearms, with additional restrictions on 3D printers and CNC machines used for firearm production.
No committee debate or votes are available, so there is no recorded legislative sentiment beyond the bill text itself. The bill’s content reflects a strong gun-safety and regulatory posture, suggesting likely support from advocates of universal background checks, safe storage, and ghost-gun restrictions, and likely opposition from gun-rights advocates concerned about private transfer limits, serial-number mandates, and manufacturing restrictions. Its withdrawal before introduction indicates it did not proceed to formal consideration.
The most notable points of contention would likely be the requirement that all private firearm transfers be processed through a licensed dealer, the broad application of background checks to all persons involved in a transfer, and the criminal penalties for noncompliance. Additional controversy would likely center on the ban on unserialized firearms and unfinished frames or receivers, the possession ban beginning in 2026, and the restrictions on 3D printers and CNC milling machines used for firearm manufacture. Supporters would frame these provisions as closing loopholes and improving public safety, while opponents would likely argue they impose significant burdens on lawful owners, hobbyists, and private sellers.