A longstanding U.S. government law preventing federally licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to individuals under 21 years old was declared unconstitutional on Thursday by a U.S. appeals court, referencing recent Supreme Court decisions that broadened gun rights.
The decision from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, marked the first time a federal appellate court ruled that the age restriction infringed upon the right to bear arms protected by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Previously, the same court had upheld the restriction in 2012, but that ruling came before the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority issued a pivotal decision in 2022, which introduced a new standard for evaluating current gun laws.
In the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court ruled that contemporary firearm laws must align with the country’s historical practices of gun regulation.
The federal restriction, which prevents the sale of handguns to individuals under 21, was first enacted by Congress in 1968 as part of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act.
A group of plaintiffs, including people aged 18 to 20 and gun advocacy organizations such as the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Second Amendment Foundation, challenged the law in 2020. They were appealing a lower-court ruling that had upheld the statute.
Judge Edith Jones, who authored the opinion for the three-judge panel, declared that the previous decision was incorrect, stating that the laws in question were “unconstitutional in light of our Nation’s historic tradition of firearm regulation.”
During the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden, the Department of Justice had supported the law. However, Jones noted that the Department had presented “scant” evidence showing that the gun rights of 18-to-20-year-olds had been similarly restricted in the nation’s founding era.
“Ultimately, the text of the Second Amendment includes eighteen-to-twenty-year-old individuals among ‘the people’ whose right to keep and bear arms is protected,” Jones wrote, noting that all three panel members were appointed by Republican presidents.
Brandon Combs, president of the Firearms Policy Coalition, hailed the decision as a victory against “an immoral and unconstitutional age-based gun ban.”
{Matzav.com}
