In the area of firearms policy, no measure has received more legislative attention than mandatory minimum sentences for felonies committed with a gun. At the latest count, fifteen states had adopted such a law, and a dozen or so more were considering it. On the national level, the Attorney General’s Task Force on Violent Crime has recommended mandatory minimum sentencing for federal crimes committed with firearms. There are many reasons for the popularity of the policy, but one of its more important attractions is the expectation that mandatory minimum sentences will reduce gun-related crime without imposing additional constraints on the behavior of “law-abiding” citizens who wish to own guns.

In previous studies we investigated the effects of mandatory sentences for gun felonies on violent crime in Detroit, Michigan, concluding that there were no discernible changes in the level of crime which could be attributed to Michigan’s gun law. In this Article we extend the analysis to Florida’s version of the law by examining its effect on violent crime in three cities in that state.