The Supreme Court turned away one gun rights case on Monday as it gets ready to decide if it will hear a Minnesota case on a law that restricts gun sales to adults under the age of 21.

The high court declined to hear a challenge to a New York law limiting carrying weapons in areas declared “sensitive.” The law bans guns in churches, parks, and entertainment venues.

The state passed the law in response to the Supreme Court’s 2022 landmark decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. That ruling struck down a century-old state firearms regulation requiring that to obtain a firearm license a citizen had to show a compelling need.

Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority, said that any and all firearms regulations must be “consistent with the Second Amendment’s text and historical understanding.”

That kicked off two years of confusion in the lower courts, as judges openly stated they did not know what historical precedent should be used in evaluating firearms regulation.

The case court is still considering a Minnesota law banning gun permits for adults ages 18-20.

If it takes up that case it could settle whether a patchwork of age rules across the country violate the Second Amendment rights of young adults.

Jacobson v. Worth centers on Kristin Worth. She worked a late shift at a Minnesota grocery store and wanted to carry a handgun for protection but was denied due to being under the age of 21.

A court ruled in Worth’s favor and the Eighth Circuit upheld the verdict. Now Minnesota is asking the Supreme Court to overturn the verdict.

“I’m committed to using all the tools I have to reduce gun violence and improve public safety,” Attorney General Keith Ellison said in announcing the appeal. “I believe Minnesota’s ban on 18-to-20-year-olds carrying loaded handguns in public is constitutional and will lead to fewer senseless gun deaths across our state. I’m proud to keep defending this common-sense, gun safety law against special interests that put their ideology over your safety.”

Gun rights groups argue age-based rules ran afoul of Bruen. The Second Amendment Foundation says because lower courts have not been unanimous in their approach to the Second Amendment rights of 18-20-year-olds it hopes the high court takes up the case and rules age restrictions are unconstitutional.

“There is no historically relevant support for the premise of disenfranchising young, legal adults, purely based on their age. Therefore, the bill must be struck down,” Second Amendment Foundation Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack says.

Mr. Sack says age-based gun rules create a tier of second-class citizens with limited Constitutional rights.

“Imagine similar restrictions as applied to other constitutional rights: 20-year-olds subject to warrantless search or arrest, 19-year-olds forced to face trial – as adults – but without counsel or the right to refuse to testify against themselves, 18-year-olds thrown in jail for social media posts critical of the government,” Mr. Sack says.

The appeals court order declaring Minnesota’s law unconstitutional currently stands while the appeals process plays out. 

If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, arguments would likely come late this year or early in 2026.