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Gun legislation enacted after Parkland school shooting

Posted at 12:41 PM, Feb 14, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-15 04:05:54-05

On Valentine's Day 2018, Parkland became one of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. However, there was something different about the aftermath of this shooting as the students channeled their pain into a powerful force for change.

We first saw it in the vigils the day after the murders.

"Don't tell me there's no such thing as gun violence," Fred Gutenberg told the crowd as he talked of the murder of his 14-year-old daughter Jamie.

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In the days that followed, the students were leading the charge for stronger gun laws.

"Because of the systematic failure of our government on every level people are dying every day," said one student at a rally.

Just a week after the massacre, the students were in Tallahassee meeting with legislators and demanding tougher laws.They were young, articulate and driven.

"We will not be discouraged," one student told the legislators. "No one should ever have to go through what we went through," said another.

Less than a month later, they had accomplished something few could have imagined. Gov. Rick Scott as he signed a gun control bill into law.

The new law includes raising the age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21, a three-day waiting period and a ban for those deemed mentally ill from owning a gun.

But the fight over the gun law may not be over. Already there are attempts underway in the legislature to repeal the gun restrictions.