Weapon and Firearms Charges in Florida
There are multiple laws in Florida that criminalize the possession of firearms or weapons by certain people or certain uses of weapons or firearms.
While the state recognizes a person's right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, some of the ways that improper use of firearms or weapons can result in criminal charges include, but are not limited to, the following offenses:
- Aggravated Assault, Florida Statute § 784.
021 - Assault is defined in Florida Statute § 784.
011 as an intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence to another person that involves an ability to commit the violence and the threat creates a well-founded fear in the alleged victim that such violence is imminent.
When assault is committed with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, it is classified as aggravated assault.
This is a third-degree felony. - Carrying Concealed Weapons, Florida Statute § 790.
01 - It is a first-degree misdemeanor is a person carries a concealed weapon or electric weapon or device that is not a self-defense chemical spray, nonlethal stun gun, dart-firing stun gun, or other nonlethal electric weapon or device that is designed solely for lawful self-defense purposes.
If a person carries a concealed firearm on or about his or her person without a proper license, it is a third-degree felony. - Improper Exhibition of Dangerous Weapons or Firearms, Florida Statute § 790.
10 - The exhibition of a firearm or weapon in a rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner in the presence of one or more persons is a first-degree misdemeanor. - Possession of Firearms, Ammunition, or Electric Weapons or Unlawful Devices by a Felon, Florida Statute § 790.
23 - It is a second-degree felony for any person who has been convicted of a felony in Florida or any other jurisdiction to own or to have in his or her care, custody, possession, or control any firearm, ammunition, or electric weapon or device, or to carry a concealed weapon, including a tear gas gun or chemical weapon or device.
087 is also a mandatory minimum sentencing law that provides harsh enhancements to convictions forcible felony offenses that involve the use of a firearm.
This statute is commonly referred to as Florida's "10-20-LIFE" law because of the mandatory sentences it carries.
Under Florida Statute § 776.
08, a forcible felony is defined as treason, murder, manslaughter, sexual battery, carjacking, home-invasion robbery, robbery, burglary, arson, kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, aggravated stalking, aircraft piracy, unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a destructive device or bomb, or any other felony which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any individual.
The 10-20-LIFE law apples the following mandatory minimum sentences if an alleged offender is convicted of one of these offenses:
- Minimum of 10 years in prison if an alleged offender possesses a firearm or destructive device during the commission of such offense
- Minimum of 20 years in prison if an alleged offender discharges a firearm or destructive device during the commission of such offense
- Minimum of 25 years up to life in prison if a person suffers death or great bodily harm as the result of an alleged offender discharging a firearm or destructive device during the commission of such offense
Felony charges carry longer prison sentences and more significant fines, but convictions can also result in the loss of several civil rights and force alleged offenders to wait a certain number of years before they can petition to have such rights restored.