Handgun Sales to Young People Are Protected by Second Amendment, Court Rules – The Wall Street Journal

A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday held that the federal government may not bar federally licensed gun dealers from selling handguns to law-abiding citizens under 21 years old, potentially setting up the issue for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide.

The 2-1 decision by the Richmond, Va-.based Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals marked the first time that such a high-level court so explicitly extended the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms to younger adults. The disagreement foreshadows a potential Supreme Court review.

Despite the weighty interest in reducing crime and violence, we refuse to relegate either the Second Amendment or 18- to 20-year-olds to a second-class status, wrote Circuit Judge Julius N. Richardson, who was appointed by former Republican President Donald Trump.

The plaintiffs were two adults under 21 from Albemarle County, Va., who were prevented from buying handguns from a licensed dealer, including a 19-year-old woman who wanted protection from an abusive ex-boyfriend.

In 2018, they filed suit challenging a federal law that limits federally licensed gun dealers from selling handguns and their ammunition to people under 21. Congress first enacted the restriction in the late 1960s, responding to a surge of violent crime committed by young people.

See the original post here:
Handgun Sales to Young People Are Protected by Second Amendment, Court Rules - The Wall Street Journal