Weeks after the Florida school massacre that left 17 people dead, many Americans were absolutely outraged and called for the immediate need for stricter gun laws. Well the Florida House of Representatives just made a step in the right direction by passing a new bill that will hopefully spark a bigger change.

Reported by TIME, earlier this week the Florida House passed a new school safety bill that raises the gun buying age in Florida to 21. This is of course in response to the Parkland school massacre, but also due to the protests that followed after the shooting led by students.

The Florida House passed a school safety bill Wednesday that includes new restrictions on rifle sales and a program to arm some teachers, sending the measure to the governor for his signature. The vote of 67-50 reflected a mix of Republicans and Democrats in support and opposition. The measure, a response to the shootings at a Parkland high school that left 17 dead, is supported by the victims’ families.

Democratic Rep. Kristin Jacobs said she did not like the idea of arming teachers, but she voted yes. Republican Rep. Jay Fant said raising the minimum age to buy a rifle from 18 to 21 was unconstitutional, and he voted no. “There is a cultural divide in this room, in this state and across the country. And there’s a bill before us that is not perfect,” said Democratic Rep. Kristin Jacobs, whose district includes Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The bill would raise the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21 and create a waiting period on sales of the weapons. It would also create a so-called guardian program that would let school employees and many teachers carry handguns if they go through law enforcement training and if the school district decides to participate in the program. Other provisions would create new mental health programs for schools; establish an anonymous tip line where students and others could report threats to schools, ban bump stocks and improve communication between schools, law enforcement and state agencies.

Although the bill passed, Florida Governor Rick Scott has declined to publicly say whether or not he would sign the legislation.

Scott has stressed that he doesn’t support arming teachers and pushed lawmakers to adopt his proposal, which called for at least one law enforcement officer in every school and one for every thousand students who attend a school. “I’m going to take the time and I’m going to read the bill and I’m going to talk to families,” Scott told the press.

This is a step in the right direction, however one can’t help but think that it’s not enough and a lot more needs to be done to produce lasting change.

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Also On 101.1 The Wiz: </s> TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on a shooting at a Florida high school (all times local):

The National Rifle Association has filed a federal lawsuit over gun control legislation Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed, saying it violates the Second Amendment by raising the age to buy guns from 18 to 21.

The lawsuit came just hours after Gov. Scott, a Republican, signed the compromise bill Friday afternoon.

Lawyers for the NRA want a federal judge to block the new age restriction from taking effect.

The new legislation raises the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21, extends a three-day waiting period for handgun purchases to include long guns and bans bump stocks that allow guns to mimic fully automatic fire. It also creates a so-called “guardian” program that enables teachers and other school employees to carry handguns.

The new measures come in the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people.

The National Rifle Association is expressing disappointment after Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a gun control bill that was written after a mass shooting at a high school killed 17 people.

Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, says the bill “punishes law-abiding gun owners for the criminal acts of a deranged individual.”

The bill signed Friday raises the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21, extends a three-day waiting period for handgun purchases to include long guns and bans bump stocks that allow guns to mimic fully automatic fire. It also creates a so-called “guardian” program that enables teachers and other school employees to carry handguns.

The new measures come in the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed a school safety bill passed by the Legislature in response to the Valentine’s Day mass shooting that killed 17 people at a high school.

The bill signed Friday falls short of what Scott and the shooting’s survivors wanted. It also marks Scott’s break with the National Rifle Association.

It raises the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21, extends a three-day waiting period for handgun purchases to include long guns and bans bump stocks that allow guns to mimic fully automatic fire. It also creates a so-called “guardian” program that enables teachers and other school employees to carry handguns.

Student activists from the school where the shooting took place followed the bill’s track closely and called it “a baby step.”

A Florida judge has ordered that the suspect in a deadly school shooting rampage continue to be held without bond.

Nikolas Cruz, wearing an orange jumpsuit and looking down, made his first court appearance on 17 charges of first-degree attempted murder Friday. The 19-year-old accused of opening fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day was already being held without bond on 17 charges of murder.

His lawyer did not contest the judge’s order.

Cruz will be arraigned on the 34-count indictment Wednesday. His attorneys say Cruz will “stand mute before the court” and enter no plea. In typical practice, the judge will then enter a not guilty plea on Cruz’s behalf to continue the process.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg has been an outspoken advocate for stricter gun laws since a teenager with an AR-15 killed 17 people at his school.

Hogg’s mother, Rebecca Boldrick, says she contacted the FBI this week because threats against her family have continued to appear on Facebook. Boldrick had previously reached out to the FBI and local law enforcement last month, and she said the Broward Sheriff’s Office assigned a deputy to patrol her neighborhood.

Boldrick said she’s taking the threats seriously but isn’t letting them change her daily routine. She notes that her husband is a former FBI agent and carries a gun at all times.

Authorities in Florida are releasing the panicked 911 calls related last month’s deadly school shooting as a gun-control bill sits on the governor’s desk.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday released audio of 10 of the 81 calls its 911 center received during the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 dead and its aftermath. Calls came from students hiding in classrooms and parents who were getting calls and text messages from their children.

Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Scott has yet to say whether he’ll sign a gun-control bill that challenges the National Rifle Association but falls short of what the Republicans and survivors of the massacre demanded. Scott says he wants to take his time and talk to the affected families. He has 15 days to sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature.
• Download the WISH-TV app for your iPhone/iPad in the App Store
• Download the WISH-TV app in the Google Play store </s> (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File). FILE - This Feb. 19, 2018 file photo shows Denyse Christian, hugging her son Adin Christian, 16, a student at the school, at a makeshift memorial outside the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students and f...

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File). This Feb. 19, 2018 file photo shows a makeshift memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students and faculty were killed in a mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. Parkland city’s historian Jeff Schwar...

(Scott Keeler/Tampa Bay Times via AP). Rep. Jose Oliva, R- Miami Lakes, front, and other members of the Florida House, applaud Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School parent Andrew Pollack, who's daughter, Meadow Pollack, was killed in the school shooting...

(AP Photo/Mark Wallheiser). Andrew Pollack, father of 18 year-old school shooting victim Meadow Pollack, stands to applause in the Florida House gallery after the school safety bill passed the House 67-50 at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., We...

(Scott Keeler/Tampa Bay Times via AP). Rep. Jose Oliva, R- Miami Lakes, is hugged and congratulated by House members as the gun and school safety bill passed the Florida House 67-50 in Tallahassee, Fla., Wednesday, March 7, 2018. Oliva shepherd the bil...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Latest on a shooting at a Florida high school (all times local):

The National Rifle Association has filed a federal lawsuit over gun control legislation Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed, saying it violates the Second Amendment by raising the age to buy guns from 18 to 21.

The lawsuit came just hours after Gov. Scott, a Republican, signed the compromise bill Friday afternoon.

Lawyers for the NRA want a federal judge to block the new age restriction from taking effect.

The new legislation raises the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21, extends a three-day waiting period for handgun purchases to include long guns and bans bump stocks that allow guns to mimic fully automatic fire. It also creates a so-called "guardian" program that enables teachers and other school employees to carry handguns.

The new measures come in the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people.

The National Rifle Association is expressing disappointment after Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a gun control bill that was written after a mass shooting at a high school killed 17 people.

Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, says the bill "punishes law-abiding gun owners for the criminal acts of a deranged individual."

The bill signed Friday raises the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21, extends a three-day waiting period for handgun purchases to include long guns and bans bump stocks that allow guns to mimic fully automatic fire. It also creates a so-called "guardian" program that enables teachers and other school employees to carry handguns.

The new measures come in the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed a school safety bill passed by the Legislature in response to the Valentine's Day mass shooting that killed 17 people at a high school.

The bill signed Friday falls short of what Scott and the shooting's survivors wanted. It also marks Scott's break with the National Rifle Association.

It raises the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21, extends a three-day waiting period for handgun purchases to include long guns and bans bump stocks that allow guns to mimic fully automatic fire. It also creates a so-called "guardian" program that enables teachers and other school employees to carry handguns.

Student activists from the school where the shooting took place followed the bill's track closely and called it "a baby step."

A Florida judge has ordered that the suspect in a deadly school shooting rampage continue to be held without bond.

Nikolas Cruz, wearing an orange jumpsuit and looking down, made his first court appearance on 17 charges of first-degree attempted murder Friday. The 19-year-old accused of opening fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day was already being held without bond on 17 charges of murder.

His lawyer did not contest the judge's order.

Cruz will be arraigned on the 34-count indictment Wednesday. His attorneys say Cruz will "stand mute before the court" and enter no plea. In typical practice, the judge will then enter a not guilty plea on Cruz's behalf to continue the process.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg has been an outspoken advocate for stricter gun laws since a teenager with an AR-15 killed 17 people at his school.

Hogg's mother, Rebecca Boldrick, says she contacted the FBI this week because threats against her family have continued to appear on Facebook. Boldrick had previously reached out to the FBI and local law enforcement last month, and she said the Broward Sheriff's Office assigned a deputy to patrol her neighborhood.

Boldrick said she's taking the threats seriously but isn't letting them change her daily routine. She notes that her husband is a former FBI agent and carries a gun at all times.

Authorities in Florida are releasing the panicked 911 calls related last month's deadly school shooting as a gun-control bill sits on the governor's desk.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office on Thursday released audio of 10 of the 81 calls its 911 center received during the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 dead and its aftermath. Calls came from students hiding in classrooms and parents who were getting calls and text messages from their children.

Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Scott has yet to say whether he'll sign a gun-control bill that challenges the National Rifle Association but falls short of what the Republicans and survivors of the massacre demanded. Scott says he wants to take his time and talk to the affected families. He has 15 days to sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool, File). FILE - In this Feb. 19, 2018 file photo, Nikolas Cruz, accused of murdering 17 people in the Florida high school shooting, appears in court for a status hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Cruz...

(AP Photo/Mark Wallheiser). Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz, right, D-Coral Springs, regains his composure during his debate of the school safety bill as Rep. Shevrin D. Jones, D-West Park, looks on just prior to the vote at the Florida Capital in Tallaha...

(Scott Keeler/Tampa Bay Times via AP). Rep. Jose Oliva, R- Miami Lakes, is hugged and congratulated by House members as the gun and school safety bill passed the Florida House 67-50 in Tallahassee, Fla., Wednesday, March 7, 2018. Oliva shepherd the bil...

(Scott Keeler/Tampa Bay Times via AP). Rep. Jose Oliva, R- Miami Lakes, front, and other members of the Florida House, applaud Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School parent Andrew Pollack, who's daughter, Meadow Pollack, was killed in the school shooting...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Three weeks after the Parkland high school shooting, Florida Gov. Rick Scott has a gun-control bill on his desk that challenges the National Rifle Association but falls short of what the Republican and survivors of the massacre demanded.

Now he must decide whether to sign it. Scott has not said what he will do, and he plans to take up the issue Friday with relatives of 17 people slain in the Feb. 14 attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

"I'm going to take the time and I'm going to read the bill and I'm going to talk to families," he said.

State lawmakers formally delivered the reform package Thursday. The governor has 15 days to sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature.

The measure would raise the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21 and extend a three-day waiting period for handgun purchases to include long guns. It would also create a so-called guardian program enabling school employees and many teachers to carry handguns if they go through law enforcement training and their school districts agree to participate.

Other provisions would create new mental health programs for schools and establish an anonymous tip line where students and others could report threats to schools. The bill would also ban bump stocks that allow guns to mimic fully automatic fire and seek to improve communication between schools, law enforcement and state agencies.

Scott has received top marks from the NRA in the past for supporting gun-rights measures, but he broke with the lobbying group after last month's slayings, which reinvigorated the gun-control movement.

The governor, who is expected to seek a U.S. Senate seat later this year, has called for raising the minimum age to purchase any type of gun, but he does not support arming teachers. Instead, he wanted lawmakers to adopt his own $500 million proposal to put at least one law enforcement officer in every school.

The NRA opposes raising age limits to buy weapons or imposing new waiting periods. In a statement Thursday, NRA and Unified Sportsmen of Florida lobbyist Marion Hammer called the bill "a display of bullying and coercion" that would violate Second Amendment rights and punish law-abiding citizens.

President Donald Trump congratulated Florida on the legislation, saying state lawmakers "passed a lot of very good legislation last night."

During a Cabinet meeting Thursday, Trump said the White House was working on a plan to ban bump stocks and that efforts to enhance background checks were "moving along well" in Congress.

The Florida bill's narrow passage reflected a mix of Republicans and Democrats in support and opposition. Survivors were split as well.

Andrew Pollack, whose daughter was among those killed, said more needed to be done, but there was enough good in the bill that it should pass.

"My precious daughter Meadow's life was taken, and there's nothing I can do to change that. But make no mistake: I'm a father, and I'm on a mission. I'm on a mission to make sure I'm the last dad to ever read a statement of this kind."

The Tampa Bay Times reported that officials in the state's largest school districts, including Miami-Dade and Broward counties, have balked at the idea of arming employees and instead called for funding to support putting more police officers in schools.

Florida's teachers union asked Scott to veto $67 million set aside for the guardian program. Under Florida law, Scott can sign the bill but use his line-item veto power to eliminate the funding.

"If guns are the appropriate answer, then we owe it to our children to provide appropriate numbers of professional, trained law enforcement personnel ... whose work assignment is to protect students and staff," Florida Education Association President Joanne McCall said in a statement.

Teachers in some states, including Texas, can carry concealed weapons if they have required training. At least eight states allow, or do not specifically prohibit, concealed weapons in K-12 schools, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Meanwhile, one student injured in the shooting was transferred to intensive care after his condition worsened. A hospital spokeswoman said 15-year-old Anthony Borges' condition became critical overnight.

A family attorney did not immediately respond to a request for information. The student has filed notice that he will sue Florida authorities to seek money to cover the cost of his recovery.

The suspect in the attack, Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old former Stoneman Douglas student, faces 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder for the massacre.

Cruz's public defender has said he will plead guilty if prosecutors take the death penalty off the table and sentence him to life in prison instead. Prosecutors have not announced a decision.

An attorney for the family that took in Cruz after his mother died said the gunman exchanged text messages with their son moments before opening fire.

Cruz asked the son of James and Kimberly Snead which classroom he was in and who his teacher was. The son was not wounded, lawyer Jim Lewis said Thursday.

Associated Press writers Jennifer Kay and Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami contributed to this report.

Follow the AP's complete coverage of the Florida school shooting here: https://apnews.com/tag/Floridaschoolshooting .

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Three weeks after the Parkland high school shooting, Florida Gov. Rick Scott has a gun-control bill on his desk that challenges the National Rifle Association but falls short of what the Republican and survivors of the massacre demanded.

Now he must decide whether to sign it. Scott has not said what he will do, and he plans to take up the issue Friday with relatives of 17 people slain in the Feb. 14 attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

“I’m going to take the time and I’m going to read the bill and I’m going to talk to families,” he said.

State lawmakers delivered the reform package Thursday. The governor has 15 days to sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature.

The measure would raise the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21 and extend a three-day waiting period for handgun purchases to include long guns. It would also create a so-called guardian program enabling school employees and many teachers to carry handguns if they go through law enforcement training and their school districts agree to participate.

Other provisions would create new mental health programs for schools and establish an anonymous tip line where students and others could report threats to schools. The bill would also ban bump stocks that allow guns to mimic fully automatic fire and seek to improve communication between schools, law enforcement and state agencies.

Scott has received top marks from the NRA in the past for supporting gun-rights measures, but he broke with the lobbying group after last month’s slayings, which reinvigorated the gun-control movement.

The governor, who is expected to seek a U.S. Senate seat later this year, has called for raising the minimum age to purchase any type of gun, but he does not support arming teachers. Instead, he wanted lawmakers to adopt his own $500 million proposal to put at least one law enforcement officer in every school.

The NRA opposes raising age limits to buy weapons or imposing new waiting periods. In a statement Thursday, NRA and Unified Sportsmen of Florida lobbyist Marion Hammer called the bill “a display of bullying and coercion” that would violate Second Amendment rights and punish law-abiding citizens.

President Donald Trump congratulated Florida on the legislation, saying state lawmakers “passed a lot of very good legislation last night.”

During a Cabinet meeting Thursday, President Trump said the White House was working on a plan to ban bump stocks and that efforts to enhance background checks were “moving along well” in Congress.

The Florida bill’s narrow passage reflected a mix of Republicans and Democrats in support and opposition. Survivors were split as well.

Andrew Pollack, whose daughter was among those killed, said more needed to be done, but there was enough good in the bill that it should pass.

“My precious daughter Meadow’s life was taken, and there’s nothing I can do to change that. But make no mistake: I’m a father, and I’m on a mission. I’m on a mission to make sure I’m the last dad to ever read a statement of this kind.”

The Tampa Bay Times reported that officials in the state’s largest school districts, including Miami-Dade and Broward counties, have balked at the idea of arming employees and instead called for funding to support putting more police officers in schools.

Florida’s teachers union asked Scott to veto $67 million set aside for the guardian program. Under Florida law, Scott can sign the bill but use his line-item veto power to eliminate the funding.

“If guns are the appropriate answer, then we owe it to our children to provide appropriate numbers of professional, trained law enforcement personnel … whose work assignment is to protect students and staff,” Florida Education Association President Joanne McCall said in a statement.

Teachers in some states, including Texas, can carry concealed weapons if they have required training. At least eight states allow, or do not specifically prohibit, concealed weapons in K-12 schools, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Meanwhile, one student injured in the shooting was transferred to intensive care after his condition worsened. A hospital spokeswoman said 15-year-old Anthony Borges’ condition became critical overnight.

A family attorney did not immediately respond to a request for information. The student has filed notice that he will sue Florida authorities to seek money to cover the cost of his recovery.

The suspect in the attack, Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old former Stoneman Douglas student, faces 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder for the massacre.

His public defender has said he will plead guilty if prosecutors take the death penalty off the table and sentence him to life in prison instead. Prosecutors have 45 days to decide. </s> Florida’s Republican-controlled Senate approved sweeping reforms to the state’s gun law on Monday that raise the minimum purchase age and add a three-day waiting period in response to the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history last month.

Senators approved the legislation after an amendment removed a provision to arm most teachers. That was designed in part to increase support from many parents, law enforcement officials and lawmakers in both parties - including Republican Governor Rick Scott - who objected to the idea.

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The exclusion was adopted by voice vote as part of a package of legislation the Senate passed a short time later, 20-18, to raise the minimum legal age for buying all guns in Florida to 21 and impose a three-day waiting period for any gun purchase.

The bill now moves to Florida’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

The minimum age for handguns nationally is already 21. However, a person can be as young as 18 to buy a rifle in Florida, with no waiting period.

The legislation comes about a month after a gunman walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, with a semi-automatic AR-15-style assault rifle and opened fire, killing 17 students and staff members.

The man accused of the massacre was 18 when he legally purchased the rifle he used, authorities said.

The bill passed by the Senate represents a break with the National Rifle Association (NRA) gun rights lobby, which has resisted proposals to raise age limits or impose new waiting limits.

A House committee approved similar legislation last week, including a provision allowing sheriffs to create voluntary programs for deputizing school personnel as armed “marshals,” subject to school district approval and special training. U.S. President Donald Trump has voiced support for such a plan, also advocated by the NRA.

Under the amended Senate bill, classroom teachers would be excluded from carrying guns to work unless they were part of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program or members of the U.S. military or former police officers. Other school personnel would be eligible to participate.

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A spokeswoman for the governor said Scott, who was endorsed by the NRA and received its highest rating for supporting gun rights, would review the bill in its final form before deciding whether to support or oppose it.

“The governor is against arming teachers,” spokeswoman Lauren Schenone said. Scott “still has concerns” with the three-day waiting period, which he has opposed in the past, she said.

The Florida Senate rejected an amendment to ban assault weapons at the weekend.

The Senate bill as it was passed echoes a number of other proposals endorsed by Scott after the Feb. 14 massacre, including new powers for police to temporarily seize guns from people involuntarily committed or deemed by a court a danger to themselves or others.

It also allows police to petition a court for a “risk-protection” order barring an individual from possessing firearms if that person is judged as dangerous because of a mental illness or violent behavior.

Authorities have said the accused Parkland gunman, Nikolas Cruz, had a history of mental issues, numerous encounters with police and was expelled from the high school last year for unspecified disciplinary problems.

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Federal and state law enforcement have also acknowledged receiving multiple warnings about his potential for violence before the shooting.

The Senate bill also provides nearly $400 million to pay for various school safety and mental health initiatives.

A group of parents from Stoneman Douglas High held a news conference outside the school on Monday urging legislators to enact meaningful legislation in time for adjournment on Friday.

Max Schachter, whose son was among those killed in Parkland, said parents hosted a meeting of 25 law enforcement officials and other experts from across the country to discuss school safety, and all opposed arming teachers.

“Not a single expert said that was a good idea,” Schachter said. </s> The National Rifle Association is suing the state of Florida after Gov. Rick Scott signed Senate Bill 7026 into law Friday, the first gun control legislation enacted in the state after the Parkland school massacre on February 14.

“This bill punishes law-abiding gun owners for the criminal acts of a deranged individual,” executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action Chris W. Cox said. “Securing our schools and protecting the constitutional rights of Americans are not mutually exclusive.”

Seventeen people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when a 19-year-old man with a semi-automatic military-style rifle opened fire.

The new Florida law raises the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21 from 18, bans the sale or possession of bump fire stocks, gives law enforcement greater power to seize weapons and ammunition from those deemed mentally unfit, and provides additional funding for armed school resource officers.

A controversial part of the new law is known as the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program, which arms some teachers if both the local school district and local sheriff’s department agree. The $67 million provision is named after the coach who shielded students with his own body and died in last month’s shooting.

The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Florida, says the new law violates the second and 14th amendments of the US Constitution.

The NRA argues people who are 18 years old are considered adults “for almost all purposes and certainly for the purposes of the exercise of fundamental constitutional rights.”

The organization also contends federal law already prevents many Americans 21 or younger from buying certain types of guns. Florida’s law unconstitutionally broadens those limits, the NRA says. </s> TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — After the Florida House narrowly passed a school safety bill with new restrictions on rifle sales and a program to arm some teachers, all eyes now turn to Gov. Rick Scott, who has declined to say if he will sign it.

“I’m going to take the time and I’m going to read the bill and I’m going to talk to families,” Scott told reporters Wednesday.

Scott has repeatedly said he doesn’t support arming teachers and had pushed lawmakers adopt his own proposal, which called for at least one law enforcement officer in every school and one for every thousand students who attend a school.

The 67-50 House vote reflected a mix of Republicans and Democrats in support and opposition. The measure, a response to the shootings at a Parkland high school that left 17 dead, is supported by the victims’ families.

Andrew Pollack, who lost his 18-year-old daughter Meadow in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, and Ryan Petty, who lost his 14-year-old daughter Alaina, said there was enough good in the bill that it should pass.

“More needs to be done, and it’s important for the country to be united in the same way the 17 families united in support of this bill,” Pollack said after the vote. “My precious daughter Meadow’s life was taken, and there’s nothing I can do to change that, but make no mistake, I’m a father and I’m on a mission. I’m on a mission to make sure I’m the last dad to ever read a statement of this kind.”

Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a former Parkland city commissioner, ended the eight hours of debate with an emotional account of seeing the high school after the shooting, attending victims’ funerals and working with students and families while the House was forming the legislation. He broke down in tears after talking about how his 4-year-old son’s writing teacher lost her daughter in the attack.

“You don’t need to stand with me. I don’t need you to stand with me. I need you to stand with the families,” Moskowitz said.

Democratic Rep. Kristin Jacobs said she did not like the idea of arming teachers, but she voted yes. Republican Rep. Jay Fant said raising the minimum age to buy a rifle from 18 to 21 was unconstitutional, and he voted no.

“There is a cultural divide in this room, in this state and across the country. And there’s a bill before us that is not perfect,” said Jacobs, whose district includes Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The bill would raise the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21 and create a waiting period on sales of the weapons. It would also create a so-called guardian program that would let school employees and many teachers carry handguns if they go through law enforcement training and if the school district decides to participate in the program.

Other provisions would create new mental health programs for schools; establish an anonymous tip line where students and others could report threats to schools, ban bump stocks and improve communication between schools, law enforcement and state agencies.

Fant, who is running for attorney general, said the gun restrictions violate the constitution.

“I just can’t imagine that Nikolas Cruz can commit such a heinous crime and then as a result we tell, potentially, a 20-year-old single mother living alone that she cannot purchase a firearm to defend herself,” Fant said.

Shooting suspect Cruz was formally charged with 17 counts of first-degree murder Wednesday, which could mean a death sentence if he is convicted.

The indictment returned by a grand jury in Fort Lauderdale also charges the 19-year-old with 17 counts of attempted murder for the Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in which 17 people died and more than a dozen others were wounded.

Cruz’s public defender has said he will plead guilty if prosecutors take the death penalty off the table, which would mean a life prison sentence. Prosecutors have 45 days to decide whether they want to seek the death penalty.

James and Kimberly Snead, the couple who gave Cruz a home after his mother died late last year, testified before the grand jury. James Snead and the couple’s attorney, Jim Lewis, wore silver “17” pins to honor the victims of the shooting.

“We’ll let justice take its course at this point,” Lewis said. “They still don’t know what happened, why this happened. They don’t have any answers. They feel very badly for everybody.”

Anderson reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Replogle reported from Parkland, Florida. Associated Press writers Gary Fineout in Tallahassee, Florida, and Freida Frisaro, David Fischer and Jennifer Kay in Miami contributed to this report.

Follow the AP’s complete coverage of the Florida school shooting here: https://apnews.com/tag/Floridaschoolshooting </s> The National Rifle Association is suing the state of Florida after Gov. Rick Scott signed Senate Bill 7026 into law Friday, the first gun control legislation enacted in the state after the Parkland school massacre on February 14.

The NRA suit focuses on the part of the law that raises the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21 from 18.

"This bill punishes law-abiding gun owners for the criminal acts of a deranged individual," executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action Chris W. Cox said. "Securing our schools and protecting the constitutional rights of Americans are not mutually exclusive."

Seventeen people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when a 19-year-old man with a semi-automatic military-style rifle opened fire.

The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Florida, says the age minimum section of the new law violates the second and 14th amendments of the US Constitution.

The NRA argues people who are 18 years old are considered adults "for almost all purposes and certainly for the purposes of the exercise of fundamental constitutional rights."

The organization also contends federal law already prevents many Americans 21 or younger from buying certain types of guns. Florida's law unconstitutionally broadens those limits, the NRA says.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is named as a defendant, said she was proud of the law.

"This bill is not perfect, and sadly it will not bring back the 17 lives lost in the horrific school shooting, but the safety of our children is not a political issue, it's simply the right thing to do," she said.

Bondi also lauded the students of Stoneman Douglas, many of whom have called for tougher gun laws.

Several students texted CNN's Dianne Gallagher with their excitement about Scott signing the measures.

"We are happy and ready to keep working!!," wrote junior Connor Dietrich.

"We have much more planned. This is just the beginning," Tyra Hemans said.

The new law also bans the sale or possession of bump fire stocks, gives law enforcement greater power to seize weapons and ammunition from those deemed mentally unfit, and provides additional funding for armed school resource officers.

A controversial part of the new law is known as the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program, which arms some teachers if both the local school district and local sheriff's department agree. The $67 million provision is named after the coach who shielded students with his own body and died in last month's shooting.

An NRA statement issued after the governor signed the law said the organization supports increased school security, fixing what it called a broken mental health system and keeping guns away from people who are mentally ill

"Preventing a responsible 20-year-old from purchasing the best tool for self-defense will not stop a deranged criminal intent on committing a crime," the NRA said. </s> The National Rifle Association filed a lawsuit in federal court on Friday to block a new gun law in Florida just over an hour after it was signed by Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who is an NRA member.

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act — passed three weeks after a mass shooting at the school killed 17 people — raises the minimum legal age for buying any guns in Florida from 18 to 21 and would allow some teachers and other staff in the Florida school system to be armed after training. SB 7026 also prohibits gun ownership by people mental health problems and expands the three-day waiting period that had applied only to handguns to now include long gun purchases.

An NRA spokeswoman said the suit was filed “against the state for violating the constitutional rights” of gun buyers under the age of 21, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.

“This blanket ban violates the fundamental rights of thousands of responsible, law-abiding Florida citizens and is thus invalid under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments,” the lawsuit states. “At 18 years of age, law-abiding citizens in this country are considered adults for almost all purposes and certainly for the purposes of the exercise of fundamental constitutional rights.”

The suit, filed in the Northern District of Florida, names Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Rick Swearingen, the commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Earlier Friday, Scott hailed the “historic legislation” that would help ensure that “every student in Florida has the right to learn in a safe environment.” He was flanked by family members of the Parkland, Florida, shooting victims at the signing ceremony. Seventeen people were killed by a mass shooter at the Parkland high school on Feb. 14.

The new law also prohibits the sale and purchase of bump stocks, which boost the firing speed of semiautomatic weapons. The law’s controversial “guardian program” will allow some school employees and teachers to carry handguns with law enforcement training and if a school district agrees to participate in the program. While the NRA supports arming teachers, the Florida teachers union is opposed to the program.

The law also provides $67 million to develop the program for arming school personnel, as well as funds to make school buildings safer, hire additional school-based police officers and provide mental health services.

This article has been updated with more details on the Florida law.
Florida's House of Representatives votes 67–50 to approve a gun and school safety bill that would raise the age to buy firearms from 18 to 21, sending the bill to Governor Rick Scott to sign into law. The measure also prohibits bump stocks, and creates a program for the arming of some teachers.