Decades-Old Handgun Sales Ban Is Unconstitutional, Federal Appeals Court Rules

A federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that a decades-old ban on federally licensed firearms dealers selling handguns to individuals aged 18-20 is unconstitutional.

The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen.

“The three judge panel consisted of Judge Edith Hollan Jones, a Ronald Reagan appointee; Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, a George W. Bush appointee; and Judge Rhesa Hawkins Barksdale, a George H.W. Bush appointee,” Breitbart noted.

“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 opinion read, according to the New York Post.

“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, and its 19th century evidence ‘cannot provide much insight into the meaning of the Second Amendment when it contradicts earlier evidence,’” it added.

The federal appeals court ruled against a lower court’s decision upholding the ban.

FPC WIN: Today, Firearms Policy Coalition announced that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the federal government’s handgun ban for adults aged 18 to 20 years old is unconstitutional. https://t.co/NMdPJQ4u3T

— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) January 30, 2025

From the New York Post:

Congress established Federal Firearms License Dealers and banned them from selling handguns to adults under the age of 21 in 1968, as part of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act.

The Biden Justice Department defended the ban in the case brought by a group of 18-20 year-olds with the assistance of the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Second Amendment Foundation.

The plaintiffs brought the case to the 5th Circuit in an attempt to appeal a Louisiana federal judge’s ruling upholding the statute.

“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,” Firearms Policy Coalition President Brandon Combs said in a statement.

Brady: United Against Gun Violence, a nonprofit group that advocates for gun control, slammed the ruling, arguing that it would allow “teenagers” easier access to firearms.

5th Circuit Panel: 2nd Amendment Protects Gun Rights of 18-20 Year-Olds https://t.co/T7Cl6EGg5g via @BreitbartNews @2AFDN @gunpolicy

— AWR Hawkins (@AWRHawkins) January 30, 2025

Per Breitbart:

Jones also pointed to Heller (2008), noting that it reminded Americans that the prefatory clause of the Second Amendment exists to “prevent the elimination of the militia.” Having stressed the importance of militia’s preservation, Jones noted founding-era documents showing 18 years as the age at which one became old enough to fight in the militia’s service.

Ultimately, the three-panel of the Fifth Circuit rule reversed the judgment of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, remanding the case for “further proceedings consistent with [the panel’s] opinion.”

Second Amendment Foundation founder and executive vice president Alan Gottlieb cheered the decision, saying, “We have always maintained that young adults, who can vote, join the military, get married, enter into contracts and even run for office can also enjoy the full rights of citizenship which includes rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment. If we can trust young adults to defend our country, we can certainly trust them to own any and all legal firearms.”

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This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.

View the original article here.