A federal appeals court upheld a law in Florida that required individuals to be 21 years of age to buy firearms in the wake of the Parkland school shooting.
Three weeks after the shooting in which a teenager shot and killed 17 victims, the Florida legislature passed Marjory Stoneman Doug High School Public Safety Act. It was supported by bipartisan support.
The law prohibits Floridians aged 18-21 from purchasing firearms, but it does not ban them from owning guns. Bump stocks, which allow semiautomatic weapons to fire faster, were also banned by the bill.
The National Rifle Associated challenged this law. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals of the 11th Circuit ruled that it does not violate the Second Amendment.
The panel of three judges wrote that the Act’s ban on firearm sales to 18-to-20 year old was consistent with the nation’s relevant historical tradition in firearm regulation.
The NRA did not immediately respond to a Thursday evening request for comment.
The law could be changed by Florida’s legislature in the coming session. Bobby Payne (Republican State Representative) introduced earlier this week a bill that would lower the purchase age for firearms to 18.
