(CNN) 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.

Read More</s>Image copyright Reuters

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is suing Florida after it passed a gun control law in the wake of a school shooting that left 17 people dead.

Governor Rick Scott, a staunch ally of the gun lobby, enacted the bill, which the NRA says violates the constitution.

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.

One of its arguments is that the legislation violates the rights of young women as they are unlikely to commit violent crime.

What's in the new law?

It raises the minimum age for buying rifles from 18 to 21 in the state - although 18, 19 and 20-year-old police officers and members of the security forces will still be able to buy rifles and shotguns

in the state - although 18, 19 and 20-year-old police officers and members of the security forces will still be able to buy rifles and shotguns It bans bump stocks - devices that raise the firing speed of semi-automatic rifles

- devices that raise the firing speed of semi-automatic rifles It introduces a three-day waiting period on all gun purchases (previously this only applied when people bought handguns)

(previously this only applied when people bought handguns) It makes it easier for police to confiscate weapons and ammunition from people who are deemed to pose a threat of violent behaviour (a measure that has been proposed by five other states in the last month, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence)

from people who are deemed to pose a threat of violent behaviour (a measure that has been proposed by five other states in the last month, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence) It allows school staff to carry guns, with the agreement of their school district authorities and sheriff's department. This is already allowed in the states of Wyoming, South Dakota, Tennessee, Georgia, Kansas and Texas

President Donald Trump has voiced support for arming teachers and so has the NRA.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption America's gun laws explained

Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican, signed the bill into law on Friday, after lawmakers at the Florida state level voted in its favour. As he signed it, he said he was an NRA member, and that some members would agree with the new law while others would not.

"It's an example to the entire country that government can and has, moved fast," he said.

Florida's Attorney General Pam Bondi said the changes were "the right thing to do".

"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," she said.

What does the NRA say in its lawsuit?

The NRA is asking a judge to block the age restriction and prevent the state of Florida from enforcing the new law.

People aged 18 are considered adults "for almost all purposes and certainly for the purposes of the exercise of fundamental constitutional rights", the lawsuit says.

The complaint says the law violates the second amendment of the US constitution, which protects 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.

NRA spokesman Chris Cox said the bill "punishes law-abiding gun owners for the criminal acts of a deranged individual".

"Preventing a responsible 20-year-old from purchasing the best tool for self-defence will not stop a deranged criminal intent on committing a crime," the lobby group said.

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

"Females between the ages of 18 and 21 pose a relatively slight risk of perpetrating a school shooting... or, for that matter, a violent crime of any kind," says the lawsuit.

It also points out that men of 21-24, just outside the new age limit, account for more violent crime arrests than men aged 18-21.

How did we get here?

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.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Students have been lobbying for greater gun control

The bill's passage by a Republican-controlled legislature in a state where the NRA wields considerable influence is seen as a testament to an impassioned pro-gun control campaign launched by young survivors of the shooting and parents of the victims.

The bill was signed into law in the presence of some Parkland survivors and their families, while some of the student campaigners from the school welcomed it as a good first step.

What reaction has there been?

"How am I not surprised" at the NRA's lawsuit, wrote David Hogg, one of the students from the Parkland school who have turned to campaigning since the shooting.

In California, Democrat state senator Scott Wiener said the NRA's arguments were "astounding" and called the group a "toxic force".

But there were plenty of others who were opposed to the new Florida law.</s>TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — 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.</s>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 new measures come in the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people.

The lawsuit came just hours after Gov. Scott, a Republican, signed the compromise bill Friday afternoon. It was passed by the House and Senate earlier this week.

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.

The bill, which provides new mental health programs for schools and provisions to keep guns away from people who show signs of mental illness or violent behavior, CBS Tallahassee affiliate WCTV reports. It extends a three-day waiting period for handgun purchases to include long guns and bump stocks that allow guns to mimic fully automatic fire.

The legislation also includes a controversial provision, which would allow "dual role" teachers - teachers who have a role in the school outside of the classroom, such as a coach - or others with military or law enforcement background, to volunteer to carry a weapon on school campuses.

Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was among those killed at the high scool, pushed for the controversial provision, which is named for coach Aaron Feis, who died charging the gunman, WCTV reports.

"He almost got this guy, cause I know someone who saw it on video," Pollack said. "Just one second difference, this coach Feis could have grabbed this piece of garbage. He would have got him."</s>(Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott, a staunch ally of the National Rifle Association (NRA), signed into law on Friday a bill imposing a 21-year-old legal age requirement and three-day waiting period on all gun purchases and allowing the arming of some school employees.

Within hours, the NRA filed a court challenge to provisions raising the legal age for buying a rifle or shotgun, asserting that the higher requirement - consistent with the minimum age nationally for handgun purchases - violates the U.S. Constitution.

Final passage of the bill by state lawmakers came three weeks to the day after a gunman opened fire with a semiautomatic assault-style rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public in Parkland, Florida, killing 14 students and three faculty members.

Swift action in the Republican-controlled statehouse, where the powerful NRA gun lobbying organization has long held sway, was propelled in large part by an extraordinary counter-lobbying campaign waged by young survivors from the massacre and parents of the victims.

The Parkland massacre and response to it by Florida lawmakers signaled a possible turning point in the national debate between advocates for tougher firearms restrictions and proponents of the right to bear arms as enshrined in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Gun control supporters said the tragedy - the deadliest U.S. high school shooting ever - has given new momentum to firearms-safety measures pending in at least two dozen states, many in solidly conservative parts of the nation.

“Today should serve as an example to the entire country that government can and must move fast,” Scott said in remarks before the signing, surrounded by survivors of the shooting and their families.

One of them, Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was among those killed, hailed the bill as “a start.”

“We’re going to work on moving forward and hitting every other state to make sure they follow the lead of Florida,” he told reporters.

Scott, a Republican who received the NRA’s endorsement as governor and its highest rating for supporting the rights of gun owners, said the bill represented a compromise balancing concerns on both sides of the gun debate.

The NRA’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, said that barring adults under the age of 21 from buying rifles was unconstitutional, violating both the Second Amendment and Americans’ 14th Amendment rights to equal protection under the law.

A statement issued earlier by the NRA had derided the higher minimum age and new waiting period for rifle sales as a prescription that “punishes law-abiding gun owners for the criminal acts of a deranged individual.”

Still, other states appeared ready to follow Florida’s lead on at least some new gun-safety measures.

Five states - Alabama, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Utah - have seen so-called “red flag” bills introduced since the Florida massacre to make it easier for police to confiscate weapons from someone found to pose a threat of violent behavior, according to Kristin Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Such a provision was included in the Florida package enacted on Friday.

The legislation, while containing a number of other provisions student activists and their parents from Parkland had embraced, left out one of their chief demands - a ban on assault-style weapons like the one used in the Feb. 14 rampage.

The bill also was controversial for including provisions allowing school staff to be specially trained and deputized to carry guns on the job as campus “guardians,” though local sheriffs and individual school districts may opt out of the program if they wish.

Most classroom teachers are excluded from volunteering for the program, a compromise aimed at earning the support of the governor, and many lawmakers, who opposed the idea.

“My daughter is a teacher, and I believe teachers should teach,” governor said. The bill left only non-teacher staff eligible to participate, such as administrators, guidance counselors, librarians and coaches.

Florida now joins at least six other states - Georgia, Kansas, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming - with laws allowing public school employees to carry firearms to work, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

President Donald Trump has voiced support for the idea, also espoused by the NRA.

Critics have said arming school staff only heightens the risks of gun violence, and poses a particular risk to minority students, who they said were more likely to be shot in the heat of a disciplinary situation or if mistaken as an intruder.

Scott said he remained dissatisfied with the guardian provisions but signed the bill nonetheless, saying it would enhance school safety overall.

“I am glad, however, that the plan in this bill is not mandatory, which means it will be up to locally elected officials,” Scott said.

Besides his objections to arming teachers, Scott was on record as being opposed to extending Florida’s existing three-day waiting period for handgun sales to purchases of all firearms, as the new law now does.

The measure also raises the legal age for all gun purchases to 21. The minimum age for handguns nationally is 21, but a person as young as 18 previously could buy a rifle in Florida.

Nikolas Cruz, the accused gunman charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder in the Parkland shooting, was 18 years old when he legally purchased the AR-15 assault-style rifle used in the massacre, according to authorities.

Cruz, now 19, had a history of mental issues, numerous encounters with police and was expelled from Stoneman Douglas last year for disciplinary problems, according to authorities.</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>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 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>(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>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.
The NRA is suing Florida after it passed a gun control law which would raise the minimum age for purchasing guns from 18 to 21.