Exercising the Right
Too Young for the Second Amendment?
At what age does the Second Amendment protect a citizen’s right to bear arms? That question may be answered someday by the Supreme Court owing to a recent appellate court decision. The Washington Times reported on July 14 that the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down part of a federal law, the Gun Control Act of 1968, that prohibited handgun sales by licensed dealers to anyone under the age of 21.
The case at hand involved a 19-year-old woman who tried buying a handgun after an abusive ex-boyfriend, whom she had an order of protection against, missed a scheduled court date. The woman was unable to buy the gun due to the federal law, and sued to challenge the law in federal court. The judge who wrote the opinion ruled that the Second Amendment extended to 18-20-year-olds and couldn’t be limited to just those 21 and up. Judge Julius Ness Richardson, who was appointed by President Trump, explained his rationale in the opinion by writing, “When do constitutional rights vest? At 18 or 21? 16 or 25? Why not 13 or 33? In the law, a line must sometimes be drawn. But there must be a reason why constitutional rights cannot be enjoyed until a certain age. 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.”
The law had been challenged in the past and was upheld by other appellate courts, which found that since the age of majority was understood to be 21 at the time of the ratification of the Constitution, then that same age was suitable for the 1968 law. Judge Richardson addressed this view in his decision and wrote that laws in existence at the time of the Founding mandated 18-year-olds to join militias and even required them to supply their own firearms. “While some historical restrictions existed, none support finding that 18-year-olds lack rights under the Second Amendment,” Judge Richardson wrote.
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