NRA files lawsuit challenging new Florida gun law News
NRA files lawsuit challenging new Florida gun law

The National Rifle Association [advocacy wesbite] filed a federal lawsuit [complaint, PDF] on Friday seeking to overturn the new Florida law [JURIST report] that imposes a 21-year-old age limit and three-day waiting period on all gun purchases.

The NRA argues that the more restrictive age requirement and the additional waiting period included in the “Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Safety Act” [text, PDF] violate Americans’ constitutional rights under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.

Florida Governor Rick Scott [official website], who has previously received the NRA’s endorsement and the highest support rating among gun owners in the state, has said that the bill will act as a compromise that balances “our individual rights with [the] need for public safety.”

Despite the new provisions, the bill fell short on achieving the ban on assault-style weapons that was sought by survivors of the recent shooting at the Parkland high school.

Most provisions of the law will take effect immediately, while the ban on the sale and possession of bump stocks kicks will not begin until October.