Second Amendment

5th Circuit overrules itself, finds law banning handgun sales to adults younger than age 21 unconstitutional

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Handgun on top of a black concealed-carry-permit application form

After reexamining its precedent, a federal appeals court has ruled that a federal ban on handgun sales to youths ages 18 to 20 violates the Second Amendment. (Image from Shutterstock)

After reexamining its precedent, a federal appeals court has ruled that a federal ban on handgun sales to youths ages 18 to 20 violates the Second Amendment.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans said its 2012 decision upholding the ban was incorrect based on subsequent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court. The appeals court ruled Jan. 30 in a panel opinion written by Judge Edith H. Jones, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan.

The 5th Circuit said the handgun-sale ban is covered by the plain text of the Second Amendment, and the ban is inconsistent with the nation’s history and tradition.

One of the Supreme Court decisions cited by the 5th Circuit is New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, decided in June 2022. The decision struck down New York’s requirement that “proper cause” must be shown to obtain a concealed-carry gun license. The Supreme Court used an approach that first considered whether the plain text of the Second Amendment covers the conduct at issue. Second, the high court considered whether the regulation is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.

The other Supreme Court decision is United States v. Rahimi, decided in June 2024. Rahimi upheld a federal law banning gun possession by those who are subject to domestic-violence restraining orders. The Supreme Court said the law “fits comfortably” within the nation’s tradition of preventing people who threaten physical harm from misusing firearms. Supreme Court precedents on gun rights “were not meant to suggest a law trapped in amber,” the Supreme Court said.

The 5th Circuit said the Second Amendment covers firearms sales to adults younger than age 21.

“The operative clause of the Second Amendment states that ‘the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,’” the 5th Circuit said. “There are no age or maturity restrictions in the plain text of the Amendment, as there are in other constitutional provisions.”

Next, the appeals court analyzed history and tradition.

“The history of firearm use, particularly in connection with militia service, contradicts the premise that 18- to 20-year-olds are not covered by the plain text of the Second Amendment,” the 5th Circuit said.

The case is Reese v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

How Appealing links to coverage of the opinion, including stories by the New York Times, Courthouse News Service and CNN.

The stories noted that the 8th Circuit at St. Louis struck down Minnesota’s ban on issuing public-carry permits to adults younger than 21 in July 2024. Minnesota is asking the Supreme Court to decide the case.

On Thursday, the 4th Circuit at Richmond, Virginia, heard arguments in another challenge to the federal ban on handgun sales to youths ages 18 to 20.