Nation/World

NRA files federal lawsuit challenging Florida bill that raises gun purchase age limit to 21

The National Rifle Association filed a federal lawsuit Friday seeking to overturn a new Florida law that imposes a 21-year-old age limit and three-day waiting period on all gun purchases, saying the move violated Americans' constitutional rights.

Arguing that the bill signed into law by Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a staunch ally of the National Rifle Association, on Friday is invalid under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the NRA said it imposed a "blanket ban" on law-abiding citizens aged 18 to 21 from purchasing guns.

The bill also allows the arming of some school employees.

Final passage of the bill by state lawmakers came three weeks to the day after a gunman opened fire with a semiautomatic assault-style rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public in Parkland, Florida, killing 14 students and three faculty members.

Swift action in the Republican-controlled statehouse, where the powerful NRA gun lobbying organization has long held sway, was propelled in large part by an extraordinary counter-lobbying campaign waged by young survivors from the massacre and parents of the victims.

The Parkland massacre and response to it by Florida lawmakers signaled a possible turning point in the national debate between advocates for tougher firearms restrictions and proponents of the right to bear arms as enshrined in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

[A 20-year-old is suing Dick's and Walmart over new gun policies, alleging age discrimination]

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Gun control supporters said the tragedy – the deadliest U.S. high school shooting ever – has given new momentum to firearms-safety measures pending in at least two dozen states, many in solidly conservative parts of the nation.

"Today should serve as an example to the entire country that government can and must move fast," Scott said in remarks before the signing, surrounded by survivors of the shooting and their families.

Scott, a Republican who received the NRA's endorsement as governor and its highest rating for supporting the rights of gun owners, said the bill represented a compromise balancing concerns on both sides of the gun debate.

Five states – Alabama, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Utah – have seen so-called "red flag" bills introduced since the Florida massacre to make it easier for police to confiscate weapons from someone found to pose a threat of violent behavior, according to Kristin Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Such a provision was included in the Florida package enacted on Friday.

The legislation, while containing a number of other provisions student activists and their parents from Parkland had embraced, left out one of their chief demands – a ban on assault-style weapons like the one used in the Feb. 14 rampage.

The bill also was controversial for including provisions allowing school staff to be specially trained and deputized to carry guns on the job as campus "guardians," though local sheriffs and individual school districts may opt out of the program if they wish.

Most classroom teachers are excluded from volunteering for the program, a compromise aimed at earning the support of the governor, and many lawmakers, who opposed the idea. The bill left only non-teacher staff eligible to participate, such as administrators, guidance counselors, librarians and coaches.

Florida now joins at least six other states – Georgia, Kansas, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming – with laws allowing public school employees to carry firearms to work, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

President Donald Trump has voiced support for the idea, also espoused by the NRA.

['I'll probably kill around 50 or 60': Inside the mind of a teen school shooter]

Critics have said arming school staff only heightens the risks of gun violence, and poses a particular risk to minority students, who they said were more likely to be shot in the heat of a disciplinary situation or if mistaken as an intruder.

Scott said he remained dissatisfied with the guardian provisions but signed the bill nonetheless, saying it would enhance school safety overall.

"I am glad, however, that the plan in this bill is not mandatory, which means it will be up to locally elected officials," Scott said. "If counties don't want to do this, they can simply say no."

Besides his objections to arming teachers, Scott was on record as being opposed to extending Florida's existing three-day waiting period for handgun sales to purchases of all firearms, as the new law now does.

The measure also raises the legal age for all gun purchases to 21. The minimum age for handguns nationally is 21, but a person as young as 18 could buy a rifle in Florida.

Nikolas Cruz, the accused gunman charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder in the Parkland shooting, was 18 years old when he legally purchased the AR-15 assault-style rifle used in the massacre, according to authorities.

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In addition, the new law allows police to temporarily seize guns from anyone been taken into custody for an involuntary mental examination and to seek a court order barring a person from possessing firearms if that individual is deemed dangerous because of a mental illness or violent behavior.

Cruz, now 19, had a history of mental issues, numerous encounters with police and was expelled from Stoneman Douglas last year for disciplinary problems, according to authorities.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Jonathan Allen in New York)

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