A three-judge panel for the US appeals court for the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday ruled that the federal handgun ban against adults under 21 is unconstitutional.
The Majority Opinion by Judge Julius Richardson, a Trump appointee, referred to our Founding Fathers for guidance on the meaning of an “armed militia.”
“We first find that 18-year-olds possess Second Amendment rights,” Judge Julius Richardson wrote. “They enjoy almost every other constitutional right, and they were required at the time of the Founding to serve in the militia and furnish their own weapons.”
“Our nation’s most cherished constitutional rights vest no later than 18. And the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms is no different,” Judge Richardson added.
Tuesday’s ruling applies to 5 states of the 4th Circuit: Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
NBC News reported:
A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the federal law banning handgun sales by licensed dealers to anyone under 21 is unconstitutional.
A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Virginia, voted 2-1 to declare the law invalid.
The ruling, which is sure to be appealed, was a victory for a Virginia woman, Natalia Marshall. She wanted to buy a handgun to protect herself from her abusive ex-boyfriend and to defend herself in remote rural areas where she works with horses. When she was turned down by a licensed firearms dealer because she was 18, she sued to challenge the law.
In dissent, Judge James A. Wynn Jr. said the ruling invalidated a modest and long-established effort to control gun violence. “The majority’s decision to grant the gun lobby a victory in a fight it lost on Capitol Hill more than fifty years ago is not compelled by law. Nor is it consistent with the proper role of the federal judiciary in our democratic system.”
The federal government can appeal the decision to the full appeals court or go directly to the Supreme Court, which already has one high-profile gun rights case on the docket for the coming term — a challenge to laws that restrict carrying guns in public.
You can serve in the Military and vote at the age of 18, but according to this UNCONSTITUTIONAL state law, you can’t buy a handgun. Guess our ARMED Services can only be armed if they’re 21 or older.
I get it. Most people up to 21 years of age just don’t have the mental ability to THINK. Many die in one car accidents. Young men think with their “lower” head. They are drafted because they are too dumb to know they can die as they think themselves impervious to harm. Still, should they be allowed to have guns? If they have the other rights, they should have this one too.
1st, There hasn’t been a single armed forces member drafted since Vietnam. We all have volunteered to join to do our part to protect our country and our rights. 2nd since you brought up driving, should we ban licenses from seniors, every week I hear news stories where one has been involved in an incident because they mixed the gas and break pedal? Also in many of those states legally a parent can gift a pistol to a child at 18, so why should they be restricted from purchasing one themselves.
Many 21 year olds shouldn’t have a gun. Violent criminals. The mentally unsound. Domestic abusers. Drug addicts on mind bending drugs. Blind people.. Each person should be reviewed for their suitability as gun owner on a case by case basis.