Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday said his office is reviewing potential civil enforcement action against the City of Jacksonville after concluding that city officials maintained an unlawful firearm registry in violation of state law.
In a March 2 letter to Fourth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Melissa Nelson, Uthmeier disputed her office’s earlier decision declining to pursue action related to logbooks used by security personnel at Jacksonville City Hall and another city building. The records, maintained between July 2023 and April 2025, reportedly contained personal identifying information and details about firearms brought into the facilities.
Uthmeier claims that the logs fall within the scope of section 790.335(2)(a), Florida Statutes, which prohibits local governments and government employees from knowingly and willfully keeping lists or registries of privately owned firearms or their owners. According to the letter, the attorney general’s office believes the practice constituted a prohibited registry regardless of whether officials intended to violate the law.
The state attorney’s office previously concluded the practice stemmed from a failure of process rather than criminal intent, noting that a written directive authorizing the logs had not been reviewed by city legal counsel and that a public works manager believed the practice was lawful. Uthmeier rejected that interpretation, writing that ignorance of the law does not excuse maintaining such records and that the facts could support a finding that the statute was violated.
The attorney general also said city leadership could bear responsibility because the logbooks were maintained using city resources and during official duties. He warned that state law allows for civil penalties of up to $5 million if a prohibited firearm registry is compiled or maintained with knowledge or complicity of local officials.
Uthmeier said he has directed Deputy Attorney General Jason Hilborn to gather evidence for potential civil proceedings and requested cooperation from the state attorney’s office as the review moves forward.
