A U.S. appeals court on Thursday struck down a long-standing federal law barring the sale of firearms to adults under 21 after deeming it unconstitutional.
The U.S. Appeals Court for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, which has a conservative majority, said in its ruling that the law, which prohibits the sale of firearms to 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds, is inconsistent with the Second Amendment.
The Context
Thursday's ruling brings the case, which a number of gun rights organizations filed against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one step closer to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The High Court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has issued a raft of rulings in recent years rolling back federal gun control measures and expanding the rights of gun advocacy groups.
What To Know
In its ruling Thursday, the appeals court noted that the Supreme Court has previously recognized "that the Second Amendment 'belongs to all Americans,'" adding that "while the core of the rights is rooted in self-defense and unconnected with the militia, the text of the Amendment's prefatory clause considered along with the overwhelming evidence of their militia service at the founding indicates that eighteen-to-twenty-year-olds were indeed part of 'the people' for Second Amendment purposes."
The ruling went on to conclude that "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."
"The federal government has presented scant evidence that eighteen-to-twenty-year-olds' firearm rights during the founding-era were restricted in a similar manner to the contemporary federal handgun purchase ban ..." the ruling continued.
It went on to overturn federal gun control laws and their related regulations, which date to 1968, according to the The New York Times.
Thursday's ruling made multiple mentions of a 2022 Supreme Court ruling striking down a century-old New York gun-permit law requiring people seeking a license to carry a gun outside their home to demonstrate a "proper cause" for doing so.
The justices were split along party lines, with the six conservative justices—three of whom were appointed by President Donald Trump—ruling that the law was inconsistent with the Second Amendment. The court's three liberal justices dissented.
The 2022 ruling, known as the Bruen decision, was one of the most significant victories for gun rights groups in modern history and drew immediate backlash from gun control advocates, who pointed to the high rate of gun violence in the U.S. as a reason to uphold New York's gun permit law.
What People Are Saying
Brandon Combs, president of the Firearms Policy Coalition—one of the groups that sued to overturn the ban—praised Thursday's ruling, saying in a statement: "Today's ruling is yet another critical FPC win against an immoral and unconstitutional age-based gun ban. We look forward to restoring the Second Amendment rights of all peaceable adults throughout the United States."
What Happens Next
It's unclear if firearms dealers will start selling guns to younger customers immediately and the decision will likely come down to the individual sellers.
"This could essentially mean that tomorrow, some dealers in states that don't have their own age limits will start selling guns to people in this age group," John J. Donohue III, professor at Stanford Law School, told the Times.
English (US) ·