Tallahassee • Soon after Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a school-safety bill that puts new restrictions on guns, the National Rifle Association filed a federal lawsuit to block it.
Three weeks of pressure from relatives and students slain in the in the Feb. 14 Parkland, Fla., school massacre provided momentum for the legislation. The governor says the bill balances individual rights with need for public safety.
The new law raises the age to buy rifles from 18 to 21, extends a three-day waiting period to include long guns and bans bump stocks. The NRA said the age limit is unfair to law abiding 18-to-20-year-olds.
The bill fell short of what many survivors had sought, specifically a ban on assault-style weapons like the one used to open fire on the school.