NRA sues as Florida signs gun-control law

Published : 10 Mar 2018, 12:21

Jagoroniya Desk

The National Rifle Association has sued Florida after it passed a gun control law in the wake of a school shooting last month that left 17 people dead.

Governor Rick Scott, a Republican and staunch ally of the gun lobby, enacted the bill.

The law raises the legal age for buying rifles in Florida, but also allows the training and arming of school staff.

It does not ban semi-automatic rifles like the one used in the 14 February massacre in Parkland.

But it does introduce a three-day waiting period on all gun sales and a ban on bump stocks, a device that enables semi-automatic rifles to fire hundreds of rounds a minute.

The NRA filed its lawsuit on Friday just an hour after the bill was signed by the governor.

The complaint says the law violates the second amendment of the US constitution, which governs the right to bear arms.

It also argues the bill breaches the 14th amendment's equal protection clause by banning law-abiding citizens between 18-21 from buying guns.

The legal action says the Florida legislation particularly affects young women.

A former student with a history of mental health issues is accused of killing 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on 14 February in the second-deadliest US school shooting ever.

The Florida bill is also controversial because it allows school staff to be specially trained to carry guns as campus "guardians".

However, local sheriffs and individual school districts may opt out and most classroom teachers will be excluded from the scheme.

Source: bbc

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