NRA Lawsuit Challenging Federal Gun Laws Dismissed by Appeals Court

[SecularMotion]

Washington, D.C. – In a first-of-its-kind ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit today affirmed the dismissal of the National Rifle Association’s challenge to federal gun laws prohibiting teens and young adults, ages 18-20, from buying handguns from gun dealers.

The ruling marked the first time a federal appeals court considered the validity of restricting handgun sales to those under age 21 since the Supreme Court’s ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller announcing a narrow Second Amendment right to possess a gun in the home for self-defense. The unanimous court agreed that the “central right” protected by the Second Amendment is a narrow right to self-defense in the home and that federal laws restricting handgun sales to young people are reasonable because “preventing handguns from easily falling into the hands of 18-to-20 year olds remains critical to public safety.”

The court agreed with a brief filed by the Brady Center arguing that the law was a reasonable public safety measure.

“We are pleased that this court has affirmed that the Second Amendment allows for common sense gun laws restricting teens from buying handguns from gun dealers,” said Jon Lowy, Director of the Brady Center’s Legal Action Project. “Eight children and teens are shot to death every day in America. We are better than this, and it’s crucial that we protect our children and communities by preventing guns from falling into the hands of dangerous people.”

http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/press/view/1542

[gejohnston]

1. Canadians can buy handguns at 18

so can Germans and Italians.
Under current US federal law, IIRC, a private seller may sell a pistol to an 18 year old, but not an FFL. In the US, 18 year olds are legal adults who may vote, sign contracts, get drafted, enlist. IMHO, if the State thinks you are old enough to vote, carry a loaded machine gun around Iraq, sign a contract you should be old to buy a pistol, have a beer.
The law is outdated. It was written when the voting age was 21.
One of my brothers joined the local PD when he was 19. The PD did not issue duty weapons other than the shotgun that stayed in the car, he had to buy his own handguns. Mom had to fill out the 4473, mom had to buy the practice and carry ammo for them. How stupid was that? He was mature enough to have a badge and break up bar fights, but mom still had to buy bullets.

[rrneck]

2. I kinda go the other way.

It might be better to raise the minimum age for all the other stuff to 21.

[gejohnston]

3. I'm cool to that too

but I think it should be one age for everything. Your are either an adult or you are not.

[pipoman]

4. Make 21

the legal age for military service, signing contracts like leases, hotel rooms, car loans, student loans, cigarettes? This will never happen...the military alone couldn't get recruits from the pool 21 and over...the necessity of 18 year old being able to act on their own behalf is important for many things.

[rrneck]

5. I agree it'll never happen.

I have to take into account the old fart factor too. The older I get the more 18 seems like "child".

I keep wondering if there would be fewer wars if the people we sent to fight them had a chance to mature a bit. But there's no bell in the sky that rings to declare maturity regardless of the age. Maybe if the fifty somethings were more mature we wouldn't have these problems either.

[Atypical Liberal]

6. I agree. Uniform age of adulthood.

If you can go die in the military, you should have all the other rights that go with it.

Have to be 21 to drink or buy a gun? Then you should have to be 21 to join the military, or 21 to vote, or sign contracts.

[petronius]

7. I don't think it should be that simple, really. Defining adult-hood is arbitrary, since

people certainly mature at different rates. But for legal purposes we need to identify an age by which most people will have reached adult maturity - spending my days on a college campus, I'm pretty comfortable with 21 as that arbitrary cutoff, compared to anything lower.

So for anything that requires adult-level maturity, that age is the break point, but it doesn't follow that everything that requires an age limit necessarily requires adult-hood, so driving etc. can reasonably be at lower ages without calling into question the validity or fairness of any 21-year-old restrictions...