Over the past year, we’ve covered the issue of young adults 18, 19, and 20 having their Second Amendment-protected rights trampled not only by the federal government but also by state governments in various states. We’ve shown how court cases have resulted in a mixed bag, with young adults winning some while also losing some.
Now, young adults under 21 have been handed a huge victory by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. On February 26, the court denied a petition for the full court to hear the case Lara v. Paris, which challenges Pennsylvania’s law banning 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying firearms during a state of emergency.
“The petition for rehearing filed by appellant in the above-entitled case having been submitted to the judges who participated in the decision of this Court and to all the other available circuit judges of the circuit in regular active service, and no judge who concurred in the decision having asked for rehearing, and a majority of the judges of the circuit in regular service not having voted for rehearing, the petition for rehearing by the panel and the Court en banc is denied,” the court’s order stated.
At issue is the law banning 18-, 19- and 20-year-old gun owners from carrying firearms during an emergency, an obvious infringement of the Second Amendment rights of those young adults. Numerous courts over the past few years have found such infringements unconstitutional, while others have let them stand for a variety of reasons.
Last year, using the Bruen standard, a three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit ruled that the ban was unconstitutional, finding that 18- to 20-year-olds are part of “the people” protected by the Second Amendment. The court also determined that the original understanding of the Second Amendment—from when it was ratified in 1791—controls in a Second Amendment analysis.
Following that ruling, the state petitioned the court for an en banc hearing of the case to review the panel’s ruling. Now, the court has denied that petition, leaving the earlier ruling and barring enforcement of the ban.
Interestingly, action has been taken in Congress addressing the rights of young adult gun owners over the past week. On February 27, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, reintroduced the Second Amendment for Every Registrable (SAFER) Voter Act, which would lower the age from 21 to 18 for purchasing a handgun from a federal firearms licensee (FFL).
“Why should a 20-year-old single mom be denied the right to defend herself and her children?” Rep. Massie asked. “18-, 19- and 20-year-olds are considered adults and can vote on important public policy issues. They can also form business contracts, get married and serve in the military. As adults, these Americans should not be deprived of basic constitutional rights.”
Meanwhile, Democrats in the U.S. Senate are trying to further erode the rights of those same young adults. Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, introduced a measure that would raise the minimum age to buy so-called “assault weapons” and misnamed “high-capacity” ammunition magazines from 18 to 21.
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