Florida SB 256: Storage of Handguns in Private Conveyances and Vessels

Bill Text

256 
Storage of Handguns in Private Conveyances and Vessels 
2025-10-21T12:30:23Z 
Providing requirements for storage of handguns in private conveyances and vessels; requiring law enforcement agencies to engage in a specified promotional campaign; requiring certain firearms education, safety, and training courses to include instruction on the requirements for storage of handguns in private conveyances and vessels; revising required warnings for transfer or sale of firearms, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
GB 
General Bill 
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 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 256 

 By Senator Rouson 

 16-00399-26 2026256__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to storage of handguns in private 
 3 conveyances and vessels; amending s. 790.25, F.S.; 
 4 providing requirements for storage of handguns in 
 5 private conveyances and vessels; providing 
 6 definitions; requiring law enforcement agencies to 
 7 engage in a specified promotional campaign; requiring 
 8 certain firearms education, safety, and training 
 9 courses to include instruction on the requirements for 
 10 storage of handguns in private conveyances and 
 11 vessels; amending s. 790.175, F.S.; revising required 
 12 warnings for transfer or sale of firearms; providing 
 13 criminal penalties; providing a declaration of 
 14 important state interest; providing effective dates. 
 15 
 16 WHEREAS, on average, at least one gun is stolen from a car 
 17 every 9 minutes in the United States, and 
 18 WHEREAS, the rate of gun thefts from cars has tripled in 
 19 the last decade, showing both consistent increases nearly every 
 20 year and a marked spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 
 21 WHEREAS, a decade ago, roughly a quarter of gun thefts were 
 22 from cars, but in 2022, over half of gun thefts were from cars, 
 23 and 
 24 WHEREAS, guns are most commonly stolen from cars parked at 
 25 residences, demonstrating the importance of securely storing 
 26 guns at all times and locations, and 
 27 WHEREAS, cities in states with the weakest gun safety laws 
 28 see nearly 18 times the rate of gun thefts from cars as those in 
 29 states with the strongest gun laws, and 
 30 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that it is the 
 31 responsibility of parents to supervise their children under 18 
 32 years of age, NOW, THEREFORE, 
 33 
 34 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 35 
 36 Section 1. Effective October 1, 2026, subsection (4) of 
 37 section 790.25, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 
 38 790.25 Lawful ownership, possession, and use of firearms 
 39 and other weapons.— 
 40 (4) POSSESSION IN PRIVATE CONVEYANCE.— 
 41 (a)1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2. and 
 42 notwithstanding s. 790.01, a person 18 years of age or older who 
 43 is in lawful possession of a handgun or other weapon may possess 
 44 such a handgun or weapon within the interior of a private 
 45 conveyance if the handgun or weapon is securely encased or 
 46 otherwise not readily accessible for immediate use. A person who 
 47 possesses a handgun or other weapon as authorized under this 
 48 subparagraph paragraph may not carry the handgun or weapon on 
 49 his or her person. 
 50 2.a. A person may not store a handgun, whether loaded or 
 51 unloaded, in an unoccupied, unsecured private conveyance or 
 52 vessel unless the handgun is kept from ordinary observation and 
 53 view and secured with a device or mechanism that is securely 
 54 affixed to the private conveyance or vessel or kept locked 
 55 within a trunk, utility or glove box, or other locked container. 
 56 b. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term: 
 57 (I) “Private conveyance” includes any motor vehicle as 
 58 defined in s. 790.251(2)(b) other than a public conveyance. 
 59 (II) “Unsecured” means unlocked or otherwise left open to 
 60 entry. 
 61 (III) “Vessel” has the same meaning as in s. 327.02. 
 62 c. Each law enforcement agency shall engage in a 
 63 promotional campaign to educate the public and handgun owners 
 64 regarding the requirements of sub-subparagraph a. 
 65 d. The curricula of the firearms education, safety, and 
 66 training courses specified in s. 790.06(2)(h)1.-4. and 7. shall 
 67 contain instruction on the requirements of sub-subparagraph a. 
 68 Section 2. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 790.175, 
 69 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 
 70 790.175 Transfer or sale of firearms; required warnings; 
 71 penalties.— 
 72 (1) Upon the retail commercial sale or retail transfer of 
 73 any firearm, the seller or transferor shall deliver a written 
 74 warning to the purchaser or transferee, which warning states, in 
 75 block letters not less than 1/4 inch in height: 
 76 
 77 “IT IS UNLAWFUL, AND PUNISHABLE BY IMPRISONMENT AND FINE, FOR 
 78 ANY ADULT TO STORE OR LEAVE A FIREARM IN ANY PLACE WITHIN THE 
 79 REACH OR EASY ACCESS OF A MINOR UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE OR TO 
 80 KNOWINGLY SELL OR OTHERWISE TRANSFER OWNERSHIP OR POSSESSION OF 
 81 A FIREARM TO A MINO