Age-Based Bans on Gun Permits Found Unconstitutional After Supreme Court Declines To Take Up Minnesota Case

In a major victory for Second Amendment rights, Minnesota will not be able to enforce a ban on 18- to 20-year-olds being eligible for gun carry permits after the Supreme Court announced Monday it is declining to take up Worth v. Jacobson.Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus senior vice president Rob Doar called the court’s decision great news. “18, 19, and 20 year olds are just as safe and just as capable of exercising that right and constitutionally protected,” Mr. Doar said on X.The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the law last year, calling it invalid and unconstitutional under the landmark 2022 ruling New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. That case, decided by the Nine, invalidated a century-old New York state firearms regulation requiring citizens to show a compelling need to obtain a firearm license. The Bruen ruling declared that all firearms regulations must be “consistent with the Second Amendment’s text and historical understanding.”Minnesota’s permit-to-carry statute required applicants to be at least 21 years old. A 1975 law set the minimum age at 18 but it was amended in 2003 to raise the minimum age. Carrying a handgun in public without a permit is a gross misdemeanor in the state, and a conviction for a second or subsequent offense is a felony.Several individuals sued Minnesota arguing that the age restriction violated their Second Amendment rights. A federal district court in 2023 ruled that adults aged 18 to 20 were among “the people” covered by the Second Amendment, and that the state failed to establish that the law was consistent with the nation’s Founding-era intent on firearm regulation.The appeals court upheld the decision by saying it was a straightforward application of Bruen and no relevant history or tradition supported an age-based ban on carrying of firearms.Nineteen states and the District of Columbia, had joined gun rights groups in asking the Nine to overturn the appeals court ruling but it declined to take up the case.The Duke Center for Firearms Law says despite the denial in Worth, additional cases challenging firearm restrictions for 18-to-20 year olds are expected to make their way to the high court.The center’s executive director, Andrew Willinger, also noted that justices have continued to delay a decision on two other high-profile gun cases. One concerns the assault weapon ban and the other centers on laws limiting or banning large-capacity magazines.

Age-Based Bans on Gun Permits Found Unconstitutional After Supreme Court Declines To Take Up Minnesota Case

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