Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is moving to scrap the state’s three-day waiting period for buying guns, telling a federal judge he will not defend the law and is ready to declare it unconstitutional.
On Friday, June 5, Uthmeier’s office announced it would settle a federal lawsuit that targets the mandatory delay between a firearm purchase and delivery. If the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida signs off on the deal, the waiting period that kicks in even after a buyer clears a background check could be wiped off the books statewide.
What the attorney general and court filings say
Uthmeier took to X to frame the move as a constitutional stand, writing that “Every government office, including mine, exists to protect your God-given rights as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.” Court records filed the same day show his office declined to defend the waiting-period provision and instead asked the court to strike it down, as reported by ClickOrlando.
The filings include a joint Offer of Judgment that would have the court declare the waiting-period law unconstitutional and permanently bar the state from enforcing it.
How the rule works
Under current Florida law (F.S. 790.0655), there is a mandatory three-day waiting period, not counting weekends and legal holidays, between the time a buyer pays for a firearm at retail and when the gun can actually be delivered. The delay can stretch longer if the required records check is still pending, unless an exemption kicks in.
The statute carves out exemptions for concealed-weapons permit holders, certain trade-ins, and certified hunters, among others. The provision’s history and later tweaks are laid out in the state’s statutory notes, which detail how lawmakers have expanded and amended the restriction in recent years, according to the Florida Senate.
The lawsuit at the center
The pending case, Dunn v. Glass, was filed in August 2025 by the National Rifle Association, 2nd Amendment Armory, and several individual plaintiffs. They argue the three-day delay works as an unconstitutional “cooling-off” or “time-tax” requirement that blocks lawful buyers from taking home a firearm immediately after passing a background check, according to NRA-ILA.
The plaintiffs are asking for a declaratory judgment that the law cannot stand, along with a permanent injunction stopping the state from enforcing the waiting-period provision at all.
Legal momentum beyond Florida
The Florida fight is unfolding against a backdrop of shifting precedent in other states. In August 2025, a three-judge panel of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down New Mexico’s seven-day waiting period in Ortega v. Grisham. That ruling has become a talking point for challengers elsewhere, who highlight the decision while pressing similar cases, according to the Tenth Circuit.
The panel concluded that “cooling-off” delays are hard to justify under current Second Amendment doctrine because they lack clear historical analogues, a line of reasoning closely watched by gun-rights advocates and state attorneys alike.
What’s next
The Middle District of Florida will now decide what to do with the parties’ filings, including the Offer of Judgment. The judge could accept the proposed terms and formally strike down the waiting-period law, which would also bar its enforcement moving forward.
Until the court rules, though, the statute is still in effect and both dealers and buyers must continue to follow the existing three-day wait and its exemptions.
Supporters praise the move
The NRA has cheered Uthmeier’s decision to fold on defending the law and support its removal, arguing that Floridians have been stuck with an unconstitutional delay that blocks immediate access for law-abiding customers, according to NRA-ILA.
John Commerford, the organization’s legal director, has framed Dunn v. Glass as a straightforward fight to restore what he calls fundamental rights for Florida gun owners.
Lawmakers, gun dealers, and public-safety groups are watching the federal docket closely. For the moment, the fate of Florida’s three-day wait sits in the hands of a single federal judge in the Middle District of Florida.
