A federal judge in Virginia scored a major victory for Second Amendment rights on Wednesday. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Payne ruled that it was unconstitutional to prohibit federal arms dealers from selling handguns to 18 to 20-year-olds. In his ruling, Payne argued that adults under 21 should have full rights since they can also vote, join the military and serve on a jury.
According to Fox:
“If the Court were to exclude 18-to-20-year-olds from the Second Amendment’s protection, it would impose limitations on the Second Amendment that do not exist with other constitutional guarantees,” Payne wrote.
“Because the statutes and regulations in question are not consistent with our Nation’s history and tradition, they, therefore, cannot stand,” he wrote.
His opinion relied heavily on the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, which said that courts must review the country’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation” to evaluate the constitutionality of a gun restriction. That landmark ruling has led to several successful challenges to longstanding gun control laws brought by gun owners and Second Amendment groups.
Since the Bruen decision, courts have declared unconstitutional laws including federal measures designed to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and defendants under felony indictment, as well as a ban on possessing guns with the serial number removed. A federal judge recently cited the high court decision in ruling against a Minnesota law prohibiting 18- to 20-year-olds from getting permits to carry handguns in public. A judge struck down a similar law last year on gun restrictions for young adults in Texas.
Last week, the Texas House moved forward a bill on Monday that would raise the minimum age for buying semiautomatic rifles. A House committee controlled by Republicans was responsible to bringing the bill to floor and age limit would be raised from 18 to 21. Perhaps this Virginia ruling will set the precedent for future proposed bills like this.
