Under-21 Challenges in the 3rd Circuit
The United States is approaching a critical moment when courts must decide who qualifies as “the people” under the Second Amendment in the context of age-based firearm prohibitions. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Third Circuit, where three jurisdictions, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware plus the U.S. Virgin Islands are all confronting challenges that converge on one critical question: Are 18-to-20-year-olrds fully protected under the Second Amendment?
A series of cases moving through district and appellate courts may soon create what one may call a “age-18 trifecta,” defining legal adulthood for firearm rights across the entire circuit.
FEDERAL AND STATE LAW: A CONFLICTING PATCHWORK
Federal law dictates adults 18 and older may purchase long guns from federal firearm license holders (FFLs), but restricts handgun purchases from FFLs to those 21 and older. Beyond that, federal statues say very little about age-based restrictions.
States vary dramatically. For example, Florida prohibits any type of firearm purchase for adults under 21. Others impose layered restrictions on long guns, handguns, or both, including: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Illinois, Vermont, Washington, and New York. In New Jersey, for example, there is a state law that simply duplicates federal requirements
LARA V. COMMISSIONER PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE
Lara v. Commissioner Pennsylvania State Police is a case that challenges Pennsylvania’s prohibition of 18-to-20-year-olds applying for a carry license or carrying a firearm during a declared state of emergency. Originally filed, the case has already traveled a long path up to the U.S. Supreme Court and back down again.
After Rahimi, the Supreme Court granted, vacated and remanded the case. The Third Circuit then issued a new opinion reaffirming its earlier conclusion and rejecting en banc review. The court made its position clear:
“We understand that a reasonable debate can be had over allowing young adults to be armed, but the issue before us continues to be a narrow one. Our question is whether the Commissioner has borne his burden of proving that Pennsylvania’s restriction on 8-to-20-year-olds’ Second Amendment rights is consistent with the principles that underpin founding-era firearm regulations, and the answer to that is no.”
The 3rd Circuit upheld their former order and stated that: “[W]e maintain our decision to reverse the District Court’s judgment and remand with instructions to enter an injunction forbidding the Commissioner from arresting law-abiding 18-to-20-year-olds who openly carry firearms during a state of emergency declared by the Commonwealth.”
The commissioner of Pennsylvania’s state police petitioned the High Court — again — on June 26. The Supreme Court has Lara scheduled for conference on September 29.
BIRNEY, ET AL. V. DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY, ET AL.
In 2022, Delaware passed House Bill 451., prohibiting nearly all firearm and ammunition possession for adults under 21. The Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association and Bridgeville Rifle and Pistol Club challenged the law in in state court. On August 29 the court delivered an opinion in favor of the plaintiffs, noting that similar restrictions have already been struck down in the 3rd, 5th, and 8th Circuits. The court repeated cited Laura, observing that: “a prohibition on 18-to-20-year-olds’ ability to carry a firearm – even if only during the limited timeframe of a state of emergency – violated the Second Amendment.”
Judge Reneta L. Green-Strett concluded that key provisions of HB 451 violated the Delaware Constitution and were unenforceable.
HAGUE V. PLATKIN
New Jersey’s laws mirror federal handgun restrictions, barring adults under 21 from being able to purchase or carry a handgun. Hague v. Platkin, filed June 9, challenges both New Jersey’s statute and the federal handgun ban itself – which is why U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is named as a defendant.
The federal lawsuit seeks injunctions keeping the State of New Jersey and the federal government from enforcing laws prohibiting “individuals between 18 and 20 years of age seeking [to] acquire handguns and handgun ammunition for lawful purposes.”
The complaint asserts that “the Third Circuit further explained just earlier this year, in Lara v. Commissioner Pennsylvania State Police, ‘18-to-20-year-olds are among “the people” for other constitutional rights such as the right to vote, freedom of speech, the freedom to
peaceably assemble and to petition the government, and the right against unreasonable searches and seizures. [citations omitted]’”
This case has the potential to reshape both state and federal precedent.
IN CONSTITIONAL LIMBO
For decades, 18-to-20-year-olds have been living in Connotational limbo – legally adults for almost every civic duty and constitutional right, yet denied the ability to fully exercise the right to keep and bear arms. The federal government lowered the draft age from 21 to 18 during World War II. Congress lowered the voting age to 18 in 1970, signed by Republican President Nixon,. Ironically, two years earlier, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Gun Control Act barring handgun purchases for those under 21.
The result is a contradictory reality: Adults deemed responsible enough to vote, sign contracts, marry, serve on juries, and be drafted are still barred from purchasing the most common firearm for self-defense.
Heller recognized that the most popular firearm for self-defense is the handgun, so banning any legal adult from being able to purchase, possess, or carry such firearms is a profound Constitutional inconsistency.
ALL EYES ON LARA
The Third Circuit now has precedent recognizing that 18-year-olds are part of “the people” protected by the Second Amendment. Delaware’s ruling reinforces this. New Jersey’s case challenges both state and federal law at the same time.
The key question remains: Will the U.S. Supreme Court grant certiorari in Lara and put to bed the controversy of who’s in the age of majority versus that age of minority? It remains to be seen. Given the overwhelming amount of jurisprudence on the topic, the High Court will be hard pressed to grant the petition and then overturn the 3rd Circuit’s ruling. Hague v. Platkin in New Jersey is a wildcard for sure, as it goes after purchase, carry, and federal law. For now, the future of 18-to-20-year-old gun rights in the Third Circuit rests on these three pivotal cases. The legal landscape is shifting rapidly, and the Court may soon have no choice but to resolve the question once and for all.