On Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to a state statute that prohibits local officials from enforcing restrictions on the sale of firearms and ammunition, Fox News informed.
Florida approved a statute in 1987 prohibiting towns and counties from enacting firearm prohibitions that go beyond state law, and in 2011, further civil sanctions and fines were added for local officials who broke that rule.
After 17 people were shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, some local governments contested the law’s penalty provision. Nikki Fried, a former Democratic Agriculture Commissioner who resigned from her position at the beginning of this month, joined other towns in suing the state.
The penalty clause stipulates that any local official who violates the law “knowingly and willfully” may be fined up to $5,000.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected those local leaders’ appeals in a 4-1 decision, with the majority stating that “local governments have no lawful discretion or authority to implement regulations that violate state preemption.”
Ashley Moody, the attorney general for Florida, described the decision as a “huge triumph” on Thursday.
She tweeted, “Our attorneys battled hard to ensure that local governments can’t infringe on your 2nd Amendment rights.”
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