Federal Law Struck Down
“The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.” (U.S. Const. amend XXVI).
It is safe to assume that during the 2024 election, no one argued to remove 18-year-olds from the vote. The 26th Amendment of the Constitution is embedded in every American's mind. When children become "of age" they are eagerly encouraged to exercise their right to vote.
Enforcement of one Amendment while ignoring another does not make sense. However, many have been trying to remove the rights of 18-20-year-olds if it involves firearms.
In 2022, United States District Judge Mark T. Pittman ruled that state law which prohibited handgun carry by 18-t0-20-year-olds was unconstitutional.
In 2023, we saw a sharpened focus on 18-to-20 18-year-olds in the anti-gun bills that were filed. In that session, 21 bills were filed that dealt with possession by this specific age range of adults.
Through the efforts and undivided attention of teams like the TSRA PAC, all anti-gun bills were defeated in the 2023 Session.
They are back.
This Legislative Session, there is no shortage of anti-gun measures. Nine of the 65 anti-gun bills filed so far in the Texas Legislature have something in common. They restrict firearm purchase and possession by 18-20 year olds. These efforts come even though courts have been moving in the opposite direction.
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down federal law prohibiting licensed firearm dealers from selling handguns to this same age group.
“A unanimous three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday held that the federal government’s longstanding handgun ban for adults aged 18-20 years old violates the Second Amendment,” our friends at Guns.com reported in an article by Chris Eger. As identified in Eger’s detailed article, the ruling is from the Reese v. ATF case.
In the Opinion filed on January 30, 2025, the Fifth Circuit made the case and their decision clear. They also emphasized that this is not the first time this subject has been presented. “This is a second challenge in our court to the constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(b)(1) and (c)(1), which together prohibit Federal Firearms Licensees from selling handguns to eighteen-to-twenty-year-old adults,” the Opinion opened. “We are now compelled to focus intently on the evidence of firearm access and ownership by eighteen-to-twenty-year-olds near and at the founding.”
The Opinion gives a thorough background of the history of the case. It references the historical Heller case in 2008. “After Heller, there is no doubt that “the militia” was “a subset of ‘the people’” protected by its operative clause.”
Joseph Greenlee, the NRA-ILA Head of Litigation Counsel, referenced the Heller case last week, in an informative webinar. He reminded attendees that Heller ruled the Second Amendment is an individual right. For more NRA-ILA Grassroots Presents Webinars, visit the NRA ILA Front Lines website.
A press release was issued by NRA-ILA on Friday after the Fifth Circuit Ruling was issued:
"Applying the text-and-history test for Second Amendment cases set forth in NYSRPA v. Bruen, the Fifth Circuit began its analysis by considering whether the regulated conduct is covered by the Second Amendment's plain text. First, the court concluded that 'the right to keep and bear arms' surely implies the right to purchase them. Next, the court determined that 18-to-20-year-olds are among 'the people' protected by the Amendment because 'There are no age or maturity restrictions in the plain text of the Amendment' and because 18-to-20-year-olds were traditionally required to provide their own arms for service in the militia and posse comitatus.
Since the plain text covers the purchase of handguns by 18-to-20-year-olds, the court next considered whether the federal prohibition is consistent with America's historical tradition of firearm regulation. The court concluded that it is not. During the founding era, as noted above, 18-to-20-year-olds were required to acquire and possess firearms. And no founding-era law forbade them from doing so. Rather, regulations limiting the ability of 18-to-20-year-olds to acquire arms were first enacted in the latter half of the nineteenth century, which is too late to establish a historical tradition. Therefore, the court held, the federal laws prohibiting FFL sales to 18-to-20-year-olds violate the Second Amendment."
The ruling by the Fifth Circuit is a win for supporters of the Second Amendment. But it does not take away from the efforts going on in our state Legislative Session that are continuing to attempt restrictions on law-abiding citizens. The Fifth Circuit ruling may result in increased legislation filed this session. Filings can continue until March 14, 2025.
We at the TSRA PAC are working around the clock on the Legislative Session in Texas. Your TSRA Team is monitoring all the age-restriction bills (HB 306, HB 313, HB 352, HB 384, HB 579, HB 1150, HB 1556, SB 41 & SB 195), and we will let you know if and when any of these unconstitutional measures is scheduled for a hearing.
To support our efforts, please visit TSRAPAC.com and consider a contribution today.
Story by Marissa Brinkman (sportsman@tsra.com)
February 4, 2025