A U.S. appeals court has made a significant ruling against a federal law that required young adults to be 21 years old to purchase handguns, deeming it a violation of the Second Amendment. The decision was delivered by a panel of three judges on the conservative U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. This ruling comes at a time of notable changes in the national firearm legal landscape following a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2022 that expanded gun rights.
The court's ruling stated that individuals aged 18 to 20 should not be restricted from buying firearms. The judges emphasized that the text of the Second Amendment includes young adults in this age group among 'the people' whose right to keep and bear arms is safeguarded. Consequently, the case has been remanded to a lower court judge for further proceedings.
