A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that regulations in place since 1968 prohibiting the sale of handguns to people under age 21 violate the Second Amendment.
Plaintiffs Tanner Hirschfield and Natalia Marshall filed their appeal against the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives and others because they were not able to purchase guns when they were younger than 21. In Marshall’s case, she wanted a handgun for protection against an ex-boyfriend.
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Out of three judges who submitted opinions for the 4th circuit court of appeals ruling, two argued that 18 should be the minimum age for the right to bear and purchase handguns.
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“We first find that 18-year-olds possess Second Amendment rights,” wrote Judge Julius N. Richardson, who former President Donald Trump appointed. “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.”
Judge G. Steven Agee, a George W. Bush appointee, agreed with Richardson. Judge James A. Wynn, Jr., a Barack Obama appointee, wrote a dissenting opinion.
He said his fellow judges were aiding a “gun lobby a victory in a fight it lost on Capitol Hill more than fifty years ago.”
Through the Gun Control Act of 1968 – legislation passed after the assassinations of President John Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – several restrictions were placed on the purchase of firearms, ammunition and other weapons for safety purposes. Lawmakers at the time based their decision to limit the sale of handguns on research that people under age 21 were involved in gun violence at high rates, said CNN. Shotguns and rifles, however, can be sold to individuals aged 18 or older.
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Jonathan Lowy, chief counsel at Brady, a gun-control advocacy group, said the recent decision by the 4th circuit is a “dangerous ruling” that does not give proper deference to the government’s authority to prevent violence, according to the Washington Post.
CNN said the ruling in favor of the plaintiffs demonstrates a right-wing shift in the federal judiciary following the Trump presidency. Pew Research Center data shows that Trump appointed 226 federal judges during his one four-year term in office.
Previously other federal courts have held up the Gun Control Act of 1968 decisions, said CNN. Legal experts cited by the outlet say that the Department of Justice could appeal the 4th circuit case and ask for a full review.
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It is not clear if the case could go to the Supreme Court, were there is currently a conservative majority that may favor the federal appeals court decision. In April, the court agreed to review another gun rights-related case, NY State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. Corlett, according to NPR.
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