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 / Updated By Corky Siemaszko 
 
 Florida Gov. Rick Scott broke with President Donald Trump on Friday and rejected calls to arm teachers with guns to prevent school massacres. 
 
 "I disagree with arming teachers," Scott said. "My focus is on bringing in law enforcement. I think you need to have individuals who are trained, well trained." 
 
 Scott also defied the National Rifle Association by unveiling a sweeping plan to boost school security that would bar "violent or mentally ill" people from purchasing weapons, prohibit persons under the age of 21 from buying or owning guns, and outlaw so-called bump stocks that make it possible for semi-automatic weapons to fire faster. 
 
 “I want to make it virtually impossible for anyone who has mental issues to use a gun,” Scott said. “I want to make it virtually impossible for anyone who is a danger to themselves or others to use a gun.” 
 
 But the Republican governor, who is believed to be eyeing a Senate run, declined to ban the semi-automatic AR-15 type rifle that Nikolas Cruz allegedly used to killed 17 people on Valentine's Day at the high school in Parkland, Florida. 
 
 That was a key demand of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students who survived the shooting. 
 
 "Banning specific weapons is not going to fix this," said Scott. 
 
 An NRA member, Scott said he didn't consult the powerful gun lobby about his proposals. But it appears to be a sharp break with the organization that has 300,000 members in Florida, and that Scott has relied on in the past. 
 
 There was no immediate response to Scott's move from the NRA headquarters. But its chief lobbyist in Florida, Marion Hammer, called it "gratuitous gun control." 
 
 "We oppose punishing law-abiding gun owners," Hammer told the Tampa Bay Times. 
 
 Scott also called for spending $450 million to put a law enforcement officer in every school (one for every 1,000 students), hiring mental health professionals whose only job would be counseling students, and upgrading school security with metal detectors, bulletproof glass, reinforced doors and other measures. 
 
 Florida Governor Rick Scott lays out his school safety proposal during a press conference at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida on Feb 23, 2018. Scott proposed banning the sale of firearms to anyone younger than 21 as part of a plan to prevent gun violence. Mark Wallheiser / AP 
 
 The governor's plan calls for a new "see something, say something" hotline, website and mobile app. And to help pay for it, Scott said he is considering abandoning more than $180 million in planned tax cuts and urged lawmakers to temporarily shelve plans for pursue money for hometown projects. 
 
 Scott's announcement came a day after Trump expressed support for arming teachers — an idea that many critics are calling a "colossally stupid idea." 
 
 Also, Scott's move to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill appears to be an about face for the governor, who signed a bill in 2011 that barred doctors from asking patients whether they own a gun, unless the provider "believes that this information is relevant to the patient's medical care or safety, or the safety of others." 
 
 A Florida federal appeals court in February 2017 ruled that some of the provisions were unconstitutional, including the part that prevented health providers from asking whether patients owned guns. 
 
 Trump in February 2017 rolled back an Obama-era regulation that made it harder for people with mental illnesses to purchase a gun. 
 
 While making his announcement, Scott took a swipe at Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., accusing him of not doing enough to combat gun violence. Nelson quickly swiped back. 
 
 "The governor’s plan doesn’t do one thing to ensure comprehensive criminal background checks or ban assault rifles, like the AR-15," Nelson said in a statement. "His leadership is weak and by recommending raising the age to 21 he is doing the bare minimum. Enough is enough. We need to get these assault rifles off our streets and expand criminal background checks for anyone acquiring a gun.” 
 
 The developments came on the heels of revelations that Scot Peterson, the Broward County sheriff's deputy assigned to protect Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, never went inside the school or tried to stop the accused 19-year-old gunman. 
 
 CORRECTION (Feb. 23, 2018, 1:25 p.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misstated the first name of a Democratic Florida senator. He is Bill Nelson, not Ben. ||||| (CNN) A week after one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern US history, Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced a comprehensive plan to keep students safe in his state, including suggestions to raise the minimum age to buy a gun, keep weapons out of the hands of the mentally ill and ban the sale of bump stocks. 
 
 A former student fatally shot 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on February 14, sparking renewed and heated debate over the middle point between Second Amendment rights and student safety. 
 
 "We must take care of our kids," Scott, a Republican, said at a news conference announcing his three-part plan. 
 
 Kai Koerber, a student at Stoneman Douglas who was there the day of the shooting, called the plan "a step in the right direction." 
 
 "This is not the end of the line, but we thank Governor Scott for hearing our concerns, and taking steps to secure a better future for the sons and daughters of tomorrow," he said. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Rick Scott details Florida gun law changes Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Rick Scott details Florida gun law changes 03:44 
 
 The governor also called for tougher background checks and waiting periods to buy firearms; requiring mentally ill people who have been involuntarily committed to temporarily surrender weapons; and the allocation of hundreds of millions of dollars toward improving security in schools and mental health services. 
 
 "Keeping guns away from dangerous people and people with mental issues is what we need to do," he said. 
 
 "No one with mental issues should have access to guns. It's common sense, and it is in their own best interest -- not to mention the interests of our communities. And much of what I'm proposing involves giving law enforcement the ability to stop people from harming themselves and others, while giving them the tools to keep our schools safe." 
 
 Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, a Democrat who was re-elected in 2016, was pleased with the news. 
 
 "Thank you Gov. Scott and state legislative leaders for proposing a gun and school safety package that incorporates nearly all the ideas (Broward Sheriff's Office) and other sheriffs suggested. This is a strong first step in giving us the proactive ability to keep Florida safer," his office tweeted from its verified account . The targeted high school is in Broward County. 
 
 Other Democrats don't think the proposals would go far enough. 
 
 "We can beef up mental health screenings, raise the age for gun purchases and dream up other stop-gap measures, but the threat to our children and our citizens will continue until we finally take bold action to ban assault weapons designed for the battlefield from easy access in our communities," Florida Senate Democratic Leader Oscar Braynon said, referring to semiautomatic, assault-style rifles like the AR-15 the shooter at Stoneman Douglas used. 
 
 Scott, who noted that he is a member of the National Rife Association, said he's not calling for a ban on all firearms. 
 
 "I know there are some who are advocating a mass takeaway of Second Amendment rights for all Americans. That is not the answer." 
 
 In response to questions about calls for a ban on AR-15-style rifles and other semiautomatic guns, the governor said that "banning specific weapons and punishing law abiding citizens is not going to fix this. What we have to do is we have to really focus on the problem. We've got to take all weapons away from people with mental illness, people who are threatening themselves or threatening others." 
 
 Part 1: Keep guns away from dangerous people 
 
 Scott said the plan will address strengthening gun laws to keep "guns away from dangerous and violent people." 
 
 -- Part of that includes creating a "Violent Threat Restraining Order," which permits a court "to prohibit a violent or mentally ill person from purchasing or possessing a firearm when either a family member, community welfare expert or law enforcement officer" presents evidence to the court of a threat of firearms violence. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Student's warning to Gov. Scott at the polls Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Student's warning to Gov. Scott at the polls 01:26 
 
 -- It calls for strengthening "gun purchase and possession restrictions for mentally ill individuals under the Baker Act. If a court involuntarily commits someone for treatment under the Baker Act because they are at risk of harming themselves or others, an individual would be required to surrender all firearms and not regain their right to purchase or possess a firearm until a court hearing." 
 
 -- People who "are subject to an injunction for protection against stalking, cyberstalking, dating violence, repeat violence, sexual violence, or domestic violence" would be prohibited from possessing or buying a firearm. 
 
 -- Enhanced criminal penalties should be created for threats to schools, including "social media threats of shootings or bombings." It also calls for enhanching "penalties if any person possesses or purchases a gun after they have been deemed by state law to not have access to a gun." 
 
 -- Exceptions on the age for firearms purchasing include active duty and reserve military and spouses, National Guard members, and law enforcement. 
 
 Scott said he disagrees with the notion of arming educators, saying teachers should teach and police should police. 
 
 "My focus is on bringing in law enforcement. I think you need to have individuals that are trained, well-trained. My focus is let law enforcement do the keeping us safe and let teachers focus on teaching." 
 
 Part 2: Keeping students safe 
 
 Scott proposed a $450 million initiative for student safety, calling for the presence of a resource officer in every public school and giving sheriffs' departments the power "to train additional school personnel or reserve law enforcement officers" if local school boards ask. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Florida high school to reopen after massacre Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Florida high school to reopen after massacre 01:36 
 
 The plan requires "mandatory active shooter training" and says faculty and students must be involved in "active shooter drills." It calls for an increase in funding for safe school infrastructure, such as metal detectors, steel doors and upgraded locks. 
 
 Scott called for an anonymous K-12 "See Something, Say Something" hotline, website and mobile app, funding "to require access to dedicated mental health counselors to provide direct counseling services," the creation of "threat assessment" teams at each school, and "crisis intervention training for all school personnel." 
 
 Part 3: Expand mental health initiatives 
 
 The plan outlines a $50 million allocation for mental health initiatives, including the expansion of mental health service teams, a Department of Children and Families case manager embedded in every sheriff's department, and matching grants for sheriff's offices to set up special law enforcement teams to work with DCF case managers. 
 
 "There is nothing more important than the safety of our children. Our kids deserve nothing less. Fortunately, our economy is booming, and we have the resources to protect our schools and our students. And, if providing this funding means we won't be able to cut taxes this year -- so be it. And, if we have to give up some of the projects we all hold near and dear -- so be it," the governor said. 
 
 Stoneman Douglas students speak up 
 
 Koerber wasn't pleased with the proposal to give sheriffs' departments the authority to train "additional school personnel" if local school boards request it: 
 
 "Gov. Scott's Action Plan proposes the arming of teachers, if that is the wish of the district. In no way do I, or any of my friends, feel that the arming of teachers is a solution to the issue of gun violence in schools. 
 
 "Nonetheless, we are very happy to see the implementation of a gold standard age for the purchase of firearms, as well as the placement of more law enforcement officers based on the population of a school campus." 
 
 JUST WATCHED Survivor: I'm terrified to return to school Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Survivor: I'm terrified to return to school 00:45 
 
 Kyle Kashuv said he is "a bit concerned over the infringement of Second Amendment rights," a reference to the requirement that people be 21 or over to buy firearms. 
 
 "When you are 18 you are legally tried as an adult yet you are not considered mentally fit for a weapon." 
 
 But he favors other aspects on the plan, including the waiting period for background checks, extra school resource officers, mental health funding, the hotline and school building improvements. 
 
 "I think mental health and background checks are necessary," he said, adding that he also understands why the bump stock ban is necessary. 
 
 Isabella Pfeiffer seemed surprised to hear the governor's proposal. She left a meeting with Scott on Wednesday feeling a bit defeated. She said she didn't think he was actually listening to the students. 
 
 But she is a fan of most of the ideas presented Friday. 
 
 "We were super happy to see they were considering raising the age to 21 to own a rifle, I think that was one of the points we advocated for the most," she said. ||||| Meghan Petty is comforted by her father Ryan Petty during a press conference to discuss H.C.R. 22, which designates April as a month of kindness for the state of Utah and honors the lives of the victims... (Associated Press) 
 
 Meghan Petty is comforted by her father Ryan Petty during a press conference to discuss H.C.R. 22, which designates April as a month of kindness for the state of Utah and honors the lives of the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting Thursday, March 8, 2018, at the Utah State Capitol,... (Associated Press) 
 
 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Among the newly released recordings of 911 calls from deadly Florida school shooting, the parents of a 17-year-old girl can be heard telling a dispatcher that their daughter is texting from a classroom where the door's glass was shot out. "Three shot in her room. Oh my God. Oh my God," the mother says, raising her voice. 
 
 As Florida's Republican governor keeps everyone in suspense about whether he'll sign the legislature's response to the massacre of 17 people by a teenager with an assault rifle, the 12 minutes of radio transmissions released by the Broward County Sheriff's Office highlight the chaos at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The material includes 10 of the 81 recordings of frantic calls by students and parents. 
 
 The excerpts show a deputy on school grounds first thought the loud bangs were firecrackers, then realized they were gunshots — yet he never ran toward them. Other responding deputies and officers desperately tried to sort through a chaotic scene, treat the injured, lock down the school and locate the shooter. 
 
 The bill Gov. Rick Scott is weighing narrowly passed Florida's House and Senate. It falls short of what he wanted and what survivors of the massacre demanded, and both teachers unions and the National Rifle Association are opposed. 
 
 But the families of some of the 17 students and staffers who died signed a letter urging Scott to "quickly sign this historic legislation into law." 
 
 "We know that when it comes to preventing future acts of school violence, today's vote is just the beginning of our journey. We applaud the members of the Florida Legislature that courageously voted against their own political self-interest to do the right thing for the safety of our schools. This Time Must Be Different!" the letter read, in part. 
 
 Scott said he plans to meet with those families on Friday. 
 
 "I'm going to take the time and I'm going to read the bill and I'm going to talk to families," said Scott, who had received top marks from NRA for supporting gun-rights measures in the past. He broke with the lobbying group after the shootings, and his new stance reinvigorated the gun-control movement. 
 
 The measure would raise the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21, extend a three-day waiting period for handgun purchases to include long guns, and ban bump stocks that allow guns to mimic fully automatic fire. 
 
 As for schools, it would create a so-called guardian program enabling school staffers with law enforcement training and school district approval to carry concealed handguns on campus. It would create new mental health programs for schools and establish an anonymous tip line where students and others could report threats. It also seeks to improve communication between schools, law enforcement and state agencies. 
 
 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. 
 
 Teachers, meanwhile, called on Scott to use his line-item veto power to zero out the $67 million set aside for the program to train and arm school employees. The Florida Education Association on Thursday sent a letter to Scott saying the only people who should have guns in schools need to be trained law enforcement. 
 
 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 governor has 15 days to sign the measure, veto it or let it become law without his signature. 
 
 Sen. Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican and one of the main sponsors of the legislation, says he expects Scott will sign it. 
 
 "The bill is far too comprehensive for the governor to let a few provisions prevent the positive changes this bill embodies," Galvano said. 
 
 President Donald Trump congratulated Florida lawmakers, saying they "passed a lot of very good legislation last night." Trump also said Thursday that the White House is working on a plan to ban bump stocks, and efforts to enhance background checks were "moving along well" in Congress. 
 
 Andrew Pollack, whose daughter was among those killed, said more needed to be done, but there's 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 suspect in the attack, Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School 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. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Terry Spencer, 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 . ||||| The White House on Sunday vowed to help provide “rigorous firearms training” to some schoolteachers and formally endorsed a bill to tighten the federal background checks system, but it backed off President Trump’s earlier call to raise the minimum age to purchase some guns to 21 years old from 18 years old. 
 
 Responding directly to last month’s gun massacre at a Florida high school, the administration rolled out several policy proposals that focus largely on mental health and school safety initiatives. The idea of arming some teachers has been controversial and has drawn sharp opposition from the National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers lobby, among other groups. Many of the student survivors have urged Washington to toughen restrictions on gun purchases, but such measures are fiercely opposed by the National Rifle Association, and the Trump plan does not include substantial changes to gun laws. 
 
 Rather, the president is establishing a Federal Commission on School Safety, to be chaired by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, that will explore possible solutions, such as the age requirement for purchases, officials said. 
 
 In the face of criticism from Democratic lawmakers and gun control advocates that he had succumbed to political pressure from the NRA and other special-interest groups, Trump defended his plan in a series of tweets Monday morning. 
 
 “Very strong improvement and strengthening of background checks will be fully backed by White House. Legislation moving forward. Bump Stocks will soon be out. Highly trained expert teachers will be allowed to conceal carry, subject to State Law. Armed guards OK, deterrent!” Trump wrote. 
 
 Ten minutes later, he added: “On 18 to 21 Age Limits, watching court cases and rulings before acting. States are making this decision. Things are moving rapidly on this, but not much political support (to put it mildly).” 
 
 
 
 President Trump watches as Julia Cordover, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High student body president, speaks during a listening session on gun violence at the White House on Feb. 21. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images) 
 
 A third tweet asserted that if schools are declared gun-free zones “violence and danger are given an open invitation to enter.” 
 
 “Almost all school shootings are in gun free zones,” Trump wrote, without offering details to support the claim. “Cowards will only go where there is no deterrent!” 
 
 DeVos characterized the administration’s efforts as “a pragmatic plan to dramatically increase school safety.” 
 
 “We are committed to working quickly because there’s no time to waste,” she said on a conference call with reporters on Sunday evening. Invoking past mass school shootings, she continued, “No student, no family, no teacher and no school should have to live the horror of Parkland or Sandy Hook or Columbine again.” 
 
 The administration’s proposals come after 17 people were shot and killed last month at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., a massacre that spurred officials in Washington to reevaluate gun laws. 
 
 “The White House has taken tiny baby steps designed not to upset the NRA, when the gun violence epidemic in this country demands that giant steps be taken,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. “Democrats in the Senate will push to go further including passing universal background checks, actual federal legislation on protection orders, and a debate on banning assault weapons.” 
 
 Kris Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said in a statement that “President Trump has offered only drips of water in response to a five-alarm fire.” 
 
 Trump has said he was personally moved by the shooting — and by the persistent and impassioned calls for action from some of the teenage survivors as well as parents of the victims — and elevated the issue of school safety in his administration. He has called for raising the minimum age for purchasing an AR-15 or similar-style rifles from 18 to 21 years old. 
 
 “Now, this is not a popular thing to say, in terms of the NRA. But I’m saying it anyway,” Trump said in a Feb. 28 meeting with lawmakers. “You can buy a handgun — you can’t buy one; you have to wait until you’re 21. But you can buy the kind of weapon used in the school shooting at 18. I think it’s something you have to think about.” 
 
 But the White House plan released Sunday does not address the minimum age for gun purchases. Pressed by reporters about the apparent backtracking, a senior administration official said the age issue was “a state-based discussion right now” and would be explored by DeVos’s commission. 
 
 [‘I love this place.’ Trump campaigns for Pa. candidate but keeps spotlight on himself] 
 
 At a political rally Saturday night in Pennsylvania, Trump mocked the idea of commissions to solve the nation’s drug epidemic. “Do you think the drug dealers who kill thousands of people during their lifetime, do you think they care who’s on a blue-ribbon committee?” Trump said. “The only way to solve the drug problem is through toughness.” 
 
 Administration officials demurred Sunday night when asked why Trump found commissions an inadequate response to the drug epidemic but an appropriate way to respond to gun massacres. 
 
 “There are not going to be one-size-fits-all approaches and solutions, and I think that that is a very cogent argument for having a commission,” said a senior administration official, who would answer questions from reporters only on the condition of anonymity. 
 
 The centerpiece of the administration’s plan is Trump’s vow to “harden our schools against attack.” Since almost immediately after the Parkland shooting, the president has advocated arming some teachers as a solution to stopping future massacres. 
 
 “A gun-free zone to a maniac — because they’re all cowards — a gun-free zone is, let’s go in and let’s attack, because bullets aren’t coming back at us,” Trump said during a Feb. 22 listening session at the White House with teachers, students and parents. 
 
 The administration will start working with states to provide “rigorous firearms training” to teachers and other school personnel who volunteer to be armed, said Andrew Bremberg, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. The White House has not proposed offering states new funding for this training. 
 
 Lily Eskelsen García, president of the NEA, the teachers lobby, said last month that “bringing more guns into our schools does nothing to protect our students and educators from gun violence. Our students need more books, art and music programs, nurses and school counselors; they do not need more guns in their classrooms.” 
 
 The NRA supports the idea of allowing armed teachers in schools. Bremberg said the administration is backing two pieces of legislation: A bipartisan bill by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) that is designed to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; and the STOP School Violence Act, which would authorize state-based grants to implement violence prevention training for teachers and students. 
 
 The administration also is urging all states to pass risk-protection orders, as Florida recently did, allowing law enforcement officers to remove firearms from individuals who are considered a threat to themselves or others and to prevent them from purchasing new guns, Bremberg said. 
 
 Lastly, the administration wants to better integrate mental health, primary care and family services programs, and the president has ordered a full audit and review of the FBI tip line, he said. The FBI has said it ignored a warning that 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz might attack a school just weeks before he allegedly carried out the rampage in Parkland. 
 
 “The president is determined to get to the root of the various societal issues that lead to violence in our country,” Bremberg said. “No stone will be unturned.” 
 
 At the Justice Department, meanwhile, Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Saturday took an incremental step toward banning “bump stocks,” devices that can make semiautomatic weapons fire like fully automatic firearms. 
 
 Sessions submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a proposed regulation on bump stocks. The proposal still requires that office’s approval, and once that is complete, it must be published and public comments considered before it becomes reality. 
 
 While some gun-control advocates welcomed the move, others argued that it would be better for Congress to pass legislation banning the devices. Federal officials had in years past concluded that they could not legally regulate bump stocks, and the new move to do so is likely to be met with lawsuits from manufacturers of the devices. The NRA does not oppose regulating bump stocks under existing law, but it does object to new legislation. 
 
 In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott (R) defied the NRA on Friday by signing into law a new set of gun regulations that imposes a three-day waiting period for most purchases of long guns, raises the minimum age for buying those weapons to 21 and bans the possession of bump stocks. 
 
 “I am going to do what I think are common-sense solutions,” Scott said after the signing. “I think this is the beginning. There is now going to be a real conversation about how we make our schools safe.” 
 
 [Florida Gov. Rick Scott breaks with NRA to sign new gun regulations] 
 
 The new Florida restrictions have drawn opposition from some Republicans nationally. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he does not support raising the age to purchase long guns, such as AR-15-style rifles, which have been used in many of the recent mass shootings. 
 
 “We send our sons and daughters over to Afghanistan, in Iraq,” at age 18, Johnson said. “They defend our freedoms. I think if they do that, they ought to be able to buy a hunting rifle.” 
 
 Trump has vacillated in his public pronouncements about guns. He and GOP leaders in Congress have been afraid to cross the NRA ahead of the November midterm elections because the gun lobby has long been a powerful force mobilizing conservative activists in elections. 
 
 At his Feb. 28 meeting with lawmakers, Trump sounded open to new restrictions on gun purchases. “Take the guns first, go through due process second,” he said, winning the approval of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and other Democrats who have long sought to toughen gun laws and ban semiautomatic assault rifles. 
 
 But NRA leaders then met privately with Trump, and the president had an apparent change of heart and backed off more-restrictive proposals. Last week, Trump met in the Oval Office with Kyle Kashuv, a Stoneman Douglas student who has become one of his school’s few pro-gun-rights activists with his frequent appearances on Fox News Channel. 
 
 Matt Zapotosky and Brian Murphy contributed to this report. ||||| Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) defied his longtime allies at the National Rifle Association on Friday to sign into law a new set of gun regulations, more than three weeks after a school shooting claimed 17 lives in his state. 
 
 “I am going to do what I think are common-sense solutions,” Scott said after the signing. “I think this is the beginning. There is now going to be a real conversation about how we make our schools safe.” 
 
 The law, passed by Republican legislative leaders and a number of Democrats, marks a major shift for a state known as a laboratory for gun rights legislation, including legal protections for people who use guns in self-defense and an expansive concealed-carry law. 
 
 It comes as federal efforts to address the Feb. 14 slayings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have sputtered, despite calls from President Trump for bipartisan action. The Senate has no bill scheduled for debate, and the only measure moving in the House of Representatives is a bill to increase shooting response training for students and teachers. 
 
 Scott, who is moving toward a Senate bid against Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson, was critical of the inaction in Washington. “If you look at the federal government, nothing seems to have happened there,” he said. “You go elect people, you expect them to represent you, get things done.” 
 
 The new Florida law imposes a three-day waiting period for most purchases of long guns, raises the minimum age for buying those weapons to 21 and bans the possession of bump stocks, devices that can make semiautomatic weapons fire like fully automatic firearms. It does not address the demand of many Stoneman Douglas students for a ban on assault weapons. 
 
 The bill does make it easier for law enforcement and judges to remove guns from people considered a danger to themselves or others, and it establishes a program to arm some school personnel, along with hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending on school security and mental health treatment. 
 
 Before signing the bill, the governor restated his opposition to portions of it, including the waiting period and any effort to arm teachers. 
 
 Marion Hammer, the NRA’s Florida lobbyist, has denounced the bill as an unconstitutional infringement on the Second Amendment and said it passed the state House in “a display of bullying and coercion.” She called those Republicans who opposed the bill “courageous patriots.” She objected to the new waiting period, age limits and the bump stock ban. 
 
 Shortly after Scott signed the law, the NRA filed suit in federal court to block raising the minimum age for purchasing long guns, arguing that the change violates the constitutional rights of 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds. 
 
 [Florida legislature backs new gun restrictions after Parkland school shooting] 
 
 “I have not spoken to anybody in the NRA since this happened,” said Scott, who previously received an A-plus rating from the powerful group. 
 
 Opponents of the new law have threatened to punish the governor if he moves forward with a Senate campaign. “By signing this bill, Gov. Scott has demonstrated that the support of gun owners is not important to him,” said Eric Friday, the general counsel of Florida Carry, a gun rights group. “I expect it to play a large role in his Senate race.” 
 
 After Scott came out against arming teachers in schools, state Republican leaders amended the bill to exclude school employees who work exclusively as classroom teachers from being part of the “school marshal” program. 
 
 The program is voluntary for school districts, and any school employees who carry a weapon will have to undergo 132 hours of law enforcement training with the county sheriff’s office, pass a background check and take additional diversity training. 
 
 Until the Parkland shooting, Scott was championed by the NRA as a defender of gun rights. He supported state laws that prohibited local governments from regulating firearms, barred doctors from asking their patients about gun ownership and allowed children to play with simulated guns in school. 
 
 As recently as 2017, Scott promoted himself as a gun rights purist and boasted of Florida as a haven for gun owners. “We love tourists, new residents and the Second Amendment,” he said at the NRA annual meeting in Atlanta in April. “What does ‘shall not infringe on the people’s right to bear arms’ mean? It means ‘shall not infringe.’ It’s not really very complicated.” 
 
 Those positions are no longer widely held in Florida, after three mass shootings took 72 lives over the past two years — at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, the international airport in Fort Lauderdale and Stoneman Douglas. 
 
 A Quinnipiac poll taken more than a week after the latest shooting found that 78 percent of Florida residents supported raising the age for all gun purchases to 21, 87 percent supported a mandatory waiting period for all gun purchases, and 56 percent supported allowing teachers and school officials to carry guns on school grounds. 
 
 Nelson, who is preparing to face Scott in November, has signaled that he will make guns an issue. 
 
 “This is a first step, and if we really want to do something to combat gun violence, like what we saw in Parkland, we must require universal background checks on the purchase of a gun and get these assault rifles off our streets,” Nelson said in a statement after the bill became law. 
 
 [Florida Gov. Rick Scott to put in face time with GOP donors ahead of possible Senate run] 
 
 Giffords, a gun regulation group founded by former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), has been running an ad in Florida, in advance of Scott’s campaign launch, that accuses the governor of “putting the gun lobby ahead of our safety.” 
 
 Democrats were quick to attack Scott minutes after the signing ceremony, arguing that he had come late to the issue of gun regulation for political reasons. “Today was no different from any other day of Rick Scott’s political career,” David Bergstein, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a statement. “He was looking out for himself, not doing what’s best for Floridians.” 
 
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– Just over a week after the murder of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Florida Gov. Rick Scott unveiled a plan Friday to keep his state's students safer: a $500 million proposal to ban bump stocks, restrict people under age 21 from purchasing guns, and prohibit the "violent or mentally ill" from buying weapons, NBC News reports. "I want to make it virtually impossible for anyone who is a danger to themselves or others to use a gun," Scott said, per the New York Times. The age restriction would mark Scott's first big rebuff of NRA policy, per the Washington Post. "I'm an NRA member (and) a supporter of the Second Amendment," Scott said. "I'm also a father and a grandfather and a governor. We all have a difficult task in front of us balancing our individual rights with our obvious need for public safety." Among the initiatives included in Scott's plan are revamping building security to include metal detectors, better locks, and bulletproof glass; placing a "law enforcement officer in every public school"; and working more on "mental health initiatives." What Scott isn't pushing for: banning the AR-15 rifle, which was the type of weapon used in the shooting, and arming teachers, as President Trump and others have called for (to much criticism) in recent days. "Banning specific weapons … is not going to fix this," Scott said. He also said he'd rather see "well-trained" members of law enforcement brought in to protect schools than hand weapons to educators. "We must take care of our kids," he said, per CNN. On Wednesday, the NRA said it will fight any attempt to raise age limits, saying that move would "[punish] law-abiding citizens for the evil acts of criminals."