Senate President Joe Negron, R-Palm City, looks out over the Senate floor Monday. (Photo: Hali Tauxe/Democrat)STUART — Senate President Joe Negron showed skepticism Tuesday toward a lawsuit the National Rifle Association filed over legislation drafted after the mass shooting at a Broward County high school, but the Stuart Republican did not criticize the gun-rights group.The NRA opposes the legislation because it prohibits people younger than 21 from purchasing rifles and shotguns. The bill also includes a three-day waiting period on the purchase of rifles and shotguns and a ban on possessing bump stocks, which essentially convert semiautomatic weapons into automatic ones.The NRA says the new law prohibits "law-abiding citizens between the ages of 18 and 21" from lawfully purchasing a firearm of any kind.Negron, an attorney, is proud of the legislation and doesn't think it violates the state constitution, he told TCPalm during a meeting with reporters and editorial board members. Negron cited the state's handgun law, which prohibits people younger than 21 from purchasing those firearms.The NRA sued the state the same day Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill into law. "I don't begrudge that at all. I think that's part of our process," Negron said of the suit.Unlike his colleagues, the NRA has not criticized Negron by name in the wake of the law's passage. The NRA's chief Florida lobbyist and former president, Marion Hammer, criticized House Speaker Richard Corcoran for his involvement in crafting the bill in an email alert, calling it a "betrayal" to gun owners. 
Gun lobbyist Marion Hammer returns to her seat after speaking in the Senate Rules Committee meeting on gun safety in the Knott Building at the Florida state Capitol in Tallahassee, on Feb 26. (Photo: AP/Mark Wallheiser)
Negron received an "A+" rating from the NRA late last year. He never has received campaign donations from the NRA, but said he would accept them. He praised Hammer despite their disagreement on the legislation. "I consider Marion Hammer to be a friend. I consider Marion Hammer to be someone who fights very valiantly for Second Amendment rights," Negron said. "It's a good thing we have her and the NRA there, because there are a lot of people who want to take away everyone's rights. They don't think anyone should own a gun, period."Read or Share this story: https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/20/joe-negron-nra-lawsuit-marion-hammer/441015002/References^ (www.tcpalm.com)^ (www.tcpalm.com)Read more from our friends at the NRA
