A federal appeals court has ruled that Minnesota's ban on 18- to 20-year-olds obtaining a permit to publicly carry a handgun violates the US Constitution. The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals stated that the 2003 law infringes on both the Second Amendment and the 14th Amendment.
The three-judge panel unanimously decided that the state cannot lawfully prohibit individuals aged 18 to 20 from obtaining a public carry permit solely based on their age. The court emphasized that Minnesota failed to provide sufficient evidence to counter the presumption that young adults seeking to carry handguns for self-defense are protected by the right to bear arms.
