TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida is appealing a judge’s ruling striking down a law that allowed penalties for local officials who approve gun regulations tougher than state laws.

Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a notice of appeal late Tuesday, four days after Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson ruled that local officials can’t be fined or removed from office if they try to enact gun regulations. Dodson did uphold the portion of the law that bans local governments from enacting restrictions on gun and ammunition sales.

Florida enacted a law in 1987 that created the ban. In 2011, lawmakers amended it to include penalties for local officials who enact gun restrictions, including fines of up to $5,000 and removal from office.

Thirty cities and three counties sued in an effort to overturn the law after the 2018 massacre at a Parkland high school that killed 17.

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