Unconstitutional: Appeals Court Tosses Ban on Handgun Sales to Adults Under 21

On Thursday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the U.S. government ban on selling handguns to adults over 18 but under 21 is unconstitutional. The ruling was based in part on the Supreme Court case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which was at that time predicted to cause a major shakeup in gun laws nationwide.

That prediction appears to be coming true.

A decades-old U.S. government ban on federally licensed firearms dealers selling handguns to adults under the age of 21 is unconstitutional, a U.S. appeals court held on Thursday, citing recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings expanding gun rights.

The ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals marked the first time a federal appeals court has held that the prohibition violated the right to keep and bear arms enshrined in the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment.

The appeals court had previously upheld that same ban in 2012. But that was before the 6-3 conservative majority U.S. Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling in 2022 that established a new test for assessing modern firearms laws.

In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court held that modern gun restrictions were required to be “consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

The Bruen case is making its impact known, it seems. But the real issue with this odd little piece of age discrimination is that there isn’t any historical evidence of such a ban in our nation’s history prior to 1968 – that being one of the standards Bruen set.

U.S. Circuit Judge Edith Jones, writing for Thursday’s three-judge panel, said that decision was wrong, as the statutes were “unconstitutional in light of our Nation’s historic tradition of firearm regulation.”

The U.S. Department of Justice during Democratic former President Joe Biden’s tenure had defended the ban. But Jones said it put forth “scant” evidence to show that the gun rights of adults ages 18 to 20 were similarly restricted during the nation’s founding era in the 1700s.

It remains to be seen if the Trump administration will support any appeal.

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This is a serious win for the Second Amendment community, but it may have even wider application. 

At present, right here in the United States, we have an odd system wherein young Americans come by their age of majority in increments. At 18, one can join the military, sign a contract, get married, open a bank account, borrow money, and vote. But they can’t buy a beer or a shot of whiskey, in many states they can’t buy tobacco, and they can’t buy a handgun. This graduated age of majority is well to the left of stupid; as a matter of public policy, an age of majority should be just that, an age, not ages; and when one reaches that age, be it 18, 21, or 19 years, six months and 18 days, then one should have all of the rights and privileges of adulthood.

This case, in addition to being a win for the Second Amendment, could well remove one of these restrictions on people who are legally adults and should be expected to be treated as such. And if a person who is 18, 19, or 20 years old is not deemed responsible enough to buy a gun or a beer, why do we let them vote?

This is a developing story. RedState will provide updates as they become available.

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