WEEKS after their children were gunned down in the worst high school shooting since Columbine in the United States, parents of the victims stood in the Florida Capitol and watched Gov. Rick Scott on Friday sign a far-reaching bill that places new restrictions on guns.

Hours later, the National Rifle Association (NRA) filed a federal lawsuit to block it.

The new law capped an extraordinary three weeks of lobbying after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, with student survivors and grieving families working to persuade a Republican-run state government that had shunned gun control measures.

Surrounded by family members of the 17 people killed in the Valentine’s Day shooting, the GOP governor said the bill balances “our individual rights with need for public safety.”

The bill fell short of achieving the ban on assault-style weapons sought by survivors. The gunman who opened fire at the school used such a weapon, an AR-15 rifle.

The bill 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, which allow guns to mimic fully automatic fire.(SD-Agencies)