District Court Declines to Enter Agreement to Invalidate Florida’s Waiting Period Law in NRA Case and Invites Amici Participation

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday denied the parties’ joint motion for entry of judgment in the National Rifle Association’s challenge to Florida’s firearm waiting period law. The case, Dunn v. Glass, remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Florida’s Constitution requires a three-day waiting period between the retail purchase and delivery of handguns. A 2018 statute later expanded the requirement to all firearms. With limited exceptions, purchasers must wait at least three days after a seller initiates a background check before taking possession of the firearm, even when the background check is completed and approved immediately.

The NRA filed the lawsuit challenging the waiting period requirements in August 2025, alongside 2nd Amendment Armory, Centurion Armament Co., and four NRA members and in partnership with Mountain States Legal Foundation and National Shooting Sports Foundation. The defendants—Attorney General James Uthmeier, Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass, and Florida’s twenty state attorneys—agreed that Florida’s waiting period requirements violate the Second Amendment. The parties jointly sought a declaration that the laws are unconstitutional to the extent they require retailers to hold a firearm beyond the time needed to complete a background check, along with a permanent injunction preventing enforcement of the law.

Judge Merryday declined to enter the requested judgment at this stage, citing the need for a more complete presentation of the constitutional issues. The court invited the Governor of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives, the Florida Senate, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence to participate as amici curiae and file briefs by February 1, 2027 (with a notice of intent due by November 30, 2026). Other interested parties may move for leave by November 30, 2026, and, if leave is granted, file their briefs by February 1, 2027.

The NRA remains confident that the waiting period will ultimately be ruled unconstitutional and will continue to fight for the rights of Floridians.

Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org for future updates on NRA-ILA’s ongoing efforts to defend your constitutional rights, and please visit www.nraila.org/litigation to keep up to date on NRA-ILA’s ongoing litigation efforts.