In a significant development for Florida gun owners, Attorney General James Uthmeier has formally challenged the decision of the Fourth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office not to pursue action against the City of Jacksonville over its maintenance of firearm logbooks at city buildings.
On March 2, 2026, Uthmeier sent a detailed letter to State Attorney Melissa Nelson disputing her office’s conclusion that no criminal violation occurred when Jacksonville security personnel recorded firearm and personal information of citizens entering City Hall and another municipal building between July 2023 and April 2025.
Jacksonville’s firearm registry exposed law-abiding firearm owners to the very dangers that the prohibition was meant to prevent.
My office is correcting @SAO4Florida‘s misinterpretation of the law and moving forward with civil enforcement against the City of Jacksonville. pic.twitter.com/eH0tqJPIT4
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) March 2, 2026
According to the Attorney General’s letter, the logbooks contained more than 140 entries documenting the names, birthdates, identification numbers, and firearm types of over 100 individuals. Uthmeier argues that this practice constituted a prohibited registry under Section 790.335(2)(a), Florida Statutes — a law that expressly forbids local governments or government employees from “knowingly and willfully” keeping any list, record, or registry of privately owned firearms or their owners.
The Core Dispute Over Florida Law
In her earlier letter dated January 2, 2026, State Attorney Nelson explained that her office declined prosecution in part because the logbooks did not explicitly record firearm ownership, and because the public works manager who authorized the practice reportedly believed it was lawful. She characterized the issue as a failure of process rather than criminal intent.
Uthmeier rejected that interpretation.
In his March 2 response, the Attorney General states that the statute does not require the registry to explicitly label individuals as “owners” in order to violate the law. If the firearms recorded were privately owned — and not government property — then maintaining a list of those firearms and the individuals bringing them into city buildings qualifies as a prohibited registry under the statute.
He further explained that Section 790.335(2)(a) does not impose strict liability but instead requires proof that a person “knowingly and willfully” kept or caused to be kept such a list. Uthmeier argues that the statutory definitions of “knowingly” and “willfully” do not require proof of malicious intent or awareness that the conduct was unlawful. Rather, the terms require that the act be done intentionally and with awareness of the facts. In other words, if officials intentionally maintained a logbook documenting privately owned firearms, that satisfies the statutory standard regardless of whether they believed it was legal at the time.
The Attorney General also emphasized that ignorance of the law is not a defense under Florida precedent, directly addressing the argument that the public works manager mistakenly believed the practice was lawful and that the directive had not been reviewed by the city’s Office of General Counsel.
Responsibility at the City Level
Uthmeier’s letter does not limit responsibility to a single employee. He states that the firearm logbook practice continued for approximately two years and was maintained at City Hall using city resources and personnel acting within the scope of their official duties. According to the Attorney General, either city leadership was aware of the practice and failed to intervene, or it failed to properly supervise and train its employees — both of which, he argues, expose the city to potential liability.
He also notes that Florida’s prohibition on firearm registries exists specifically to prevent the government from compiling lists that could later be used to profile, harass, or target law-abiding citizens exercising their Second Amendment rights.
Possible Civil Enforcement Ahead
Although the Attorney General’s Office does not have direct authority to bring criminal charges in this instance, Uthmeier is directing Deputy Attorney General (Enforcement) Jason Hilborn to retrieve all evidence related to the matter for potential civil proceedings under Section 790.335(4)(c).
Under Florida law, a local government found to have compiled or maintained a prohibited firearm registry may be subject to civil penalties of up to $5 million.
A Test Case for Florida’s Registry Ban
Florida’s firearm registry prohibition is one of the strongest in the country. Uthmeier’s letter signals that his office interprets the statute broadly and is willing to pursue enforcement when local governments appear to cross the line.
The City of Jacksonville has not yet publicly responded to the Attorney General’s March 2 letter. Whether the matter proceeds to civil enforcement remains to be seen, but the dispute highlights ongoing tensions between local administrative practices and Florida’s statewide protections for gun owners.
AmmoLand will continue to monitor developments as the situation unfolds.
Supreme Court Signals Trouble for Federal Law Disarming Regular Marijuana Users
ATF Exposed: Bureaucrats Blocked Americans from Owning Post-1986 Machine Guns
