Minutes after Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a historic gun control bill Friday, the National Rifle Association filed a lawsuit alleging that the new law violates the Second Amendment because it raises the sales age for guns from 18 to 21.
Even though you can't drink a beer in Florida until your 21, the NRA argued in the federal suit filed late Friday that the bill should be thrown out on grounds that the age bump is somehow unconstitutional.
"This bill punishes law-abiding gun owners for the criminal acts of a deranged individual," Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA's legislative arm, said in a statement. "Securing our schools and protecting the constitutional rights of Americans are not mutually exclusive."
But a majority of the Sunshine State's lawmakers disagreed.
For the first time in more than two decades, both of Florida's legislatures passed a gun control measure this week that _ in addition to raising the sales age _ implements a three-day waiting period on firearm purchases and bans so-called bump stocks, a supplementary device that turns a semi-automatic rifle into an automatic one.
The new law also earmarks funding for the development of a statewide program that will train willing employees to carry firearms in school, a provision the NRA backs vigorously.
Friday's historic passage of gun control comes in the wake of the Parkland massacre that left 17 people dead and dozens more wounded. The gunman, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, had legally bought the AR-15 assault rifle he used to kill his former classmates and teachers _ something that would've been impossible under the new law.
Sixty-seven Republicans with A-ratings from the NRA broke ranks and voted in favor of the new law.
Gov. Scott, another NRA sweetheart, ignored calls from the gun lobby to veto the bill, telling reporters, "This is a time for us to come together, roll up our sleeves and get it done"
Survivors of the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School welcomed the new law with caution.
"I think it's a small step in a much bigger movement," David Hogg, a 17-year-old senior who lost friends in the horrific school shooting, told the Daily News late Friday. "Am I glad to see action? Yes. Do I think it's enough? No. I'm proud to see Governor Rick Scott overcome his owners at the NRA but he still makes money from them."
