In Brief:
- 🇺🇸 Jay Collins launched his statewide gubernatorial tour in Santa Rosa County, focusing on gun rights and public safety.
- 🔫 Collins pledged to fight to repeal red flag laws and the bump stock ban, lower the gun-buying age to 18 and expand Second Amendment protections.
- 👮 Backed by Sheriff Bob Johnson, Collins promised a tough-on-crime approach and contrasted himself with rival Byron Donalds.
Florida’s Lieutenant Governor and gubernatorial candidate Jay Collins kicked off his statewide “Come and Take It Tour” at Grey Man Armory in Milton, FL on Tuesday.
“I’m here to talk about two things that go together: The Second Amendment and public safety,” Collins said. “Those two things are completely linked. For too long, Washington and other states have tried to convince Americans that these are opposing values. I’m here to tell you they’re not. In Florida, we believe a free citizen is a safe citizen.”
Collins announced the goals he hopes to achieve through the “Come and Take It Tour.”
“I want to firmly repeal Florida’s red flag laws [passed in 2018 in response to the Majorie Stoneman Douglas mass shooting], and restore due process; that’s important,” he said. “Now, I understand how we got here. I’m not here to discuss any of that. People were put in a difficult situation, but I’ll tell you what, it’s time to fix it. Just because you made a mistake doesn’t mean you’re tied to it. It’s time to move forward.”
Collins condemned Florida’s Statute 790.401, which allows Florida’s law enforcement to temporarily remove access to firearms from someone deemed a threat to themself or others.
“Florida’s risk protection order law has been used to strip firearms from nearly 10,000 Floridians since July of ‘22, according to state records reported by FOX 13,” Collins said. “That is a lot of citizens’ constitutional rights without really any day in court. … Due process is not optional. The Constitution does not have an asterisk for that. The U.S. Supreme Court has now drawn a clear constitutional line: Any red flag law that removes a citizen’s firearms without timely, meaningful due process violates the Due Process Clause.”
Standing with deputies from Santa Rosa County, Collins said the decision to make Milton the first stop on his tour was deliberate.
“Santa Rosa was one of the first agencies in Florida to stand up and say they’re not going to enforce old bans and other issues with gun bills,” Collins said. “It’s Florida leadership that focuses on the Constitution and that’s the kind of partnership I’m looking for in the governor’s office.”
Sheriff Bob Johnson of Santa Rosa County endorsed Collins at the press conference.
“The man was a Green Beret,” Johnson said. “He got wounded severely, came back — he could have taken a retirement, taken the VA substance and stuff, and instead he requalified as a Green Beret with a prosthetic leg. Something he won’t tell you, and he doesn’t talk about it a lot, is after that, he’s in a combat deployment. He gets shot in the arm. In the middle of a firefight, he does an operation on his arm and saves his arm. Now, I don’t know a lot about [his opponent] Byron Donalds, but I can tell you this much: He hasn’t done that. I can’t think of anybody else in the world suited better to run this state than Jay Collins.”
The endorsement puts him on the other side of the primary from the rest of the Emerald Coast’s top cops. Okaloosa Sheriff Eric Aden, Walton Sheriff Mike Adkinson and Escambia Sheriff Chip Roy endorsed Collins’ main rival for the Republican primary, Byron Donalds.
Collins discussed other key issues important to him and his campaign in Florida.
Repeal Florida’s bump stock ban
“Florida bump stock, codified at 790.222, was passed in 2018 as part of the post-Parkland package,” Collins said. “It makes simple possession of a bump stock a third-degree felony, up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. We’re locking up our citizens for owning something the U.S. Supreme Court has said is not a machine gun. That is the definition of a dilution of constitutional freedoms and rights.”
A bump-fire stock is “a conversion kit, a tool, an accessory, or a device used to alter the rate of fire of a firearm to mimic automatic weapon fire,” according to the statute.
Collins said he wants to be clear where he stands on this issue.
“This is not legalizing automatic weapons. Let’s not play that game. Federal law still bans that, and this is removing a state-level felony for an accessory. That’s all. This is no games; let’s not spin it.”
Reduce the legal age to own a firearm to 18
“We have to decide where are you an adult, at 18 or 21, as a nation,” Collins said. “In 2018 after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas tragedy, Florida raised the minimum age to purchase any firearm from 18 to 21. That was in section 790.065 of the Florida Statutes. I respect the grief that drove the law, and I fully understand the pain. Having been a legislator, I have had families bear their soul. I have sat there with hard stories and hard times, but it still does not change our constitution or our way of life.”
Collins said he supports House Bill 133, which would lower the minimum age required to buy a firearm.
“At 18, a Floridian can enlist, deploy, vote, sign a contract, and serve on a jury. They should not be told by their own state that they are a second-class citizen at the gun counter; that’s a simple fact.”
Commitment to be ‘tough on crime’
“Florida draws a felony line at $750 [in theft],” Collins said. “Steal less than that and you’ll face petty theft, generally a misdemeanor. Cross $750 and you face grand theft in the third degree, a felony carrying up to five years in prison under section 812.014 of the Florida statute.
Collins said he opposes any motion to raise the minimum loss required for theft to result in a felony, including House Bill 589 (2019), filed by opposing Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds.
“When a Floridian gets robbed, that is not a misdemeanor in their life,” Collins said. “In 2024, the Florida legislature strengthened the retail theft statute by extending the aggregation window for separate thefts of $120 up from $30, so prosecutors can build felony cases against repeat shoplifters and organized crime rings. That’s the right direction. When we’re soft on crime, what happens? We put these guys [law enforcement] at risk, they end up repeatedly arresting the same people.”
Fight to repeal the National Firearms Act
The National Firearms Act, enacted in 1934, imposed a $200 tax on the possession and transfer of approved firearms, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“For 90 years, that scheme treated law-abiding Americans like suspects for exercising their constitutional right,” Collins said. “The National Firearms Act of 1934 is older than most people’s grandparents. It’s past time to fix it, past time to retire that piece of legislation, that law.”
Collins said he supports H.R.335, a piece of legislation aimed at repealing the NFA in its entirety.
“In July 2025, President Trump signed the One, Big, Beautiful Bill into law. Beginning January 1, 2026, The $200 NFA tax on suppressors, short barrel rifles, short barrel shotguns and any other weapons dropped to zero. That’s a big win, but the registration, the fingerprints, the [Chief Law Enforcement Officer], the Form 4 process and the registry itself are still on the books. We got the tax down, but there’s still more work to do.”
