The Supreme Court shut down an effort by Democrats in Minnesota to restrict 18-to-20-year-olds from buying guns.
The court let stand an Eight Circuit ruling that vindicated the rights of young people to carry firearms under the Second Amendment. Minnesota's attorney general, Keith Ellison (D), had asked the court to uphold "modest" restrictions that make it a crime for people under 21 to carry in public.
The ruling is the latest in a cascade of Second Amendment victories to follow from the Supreme Court's decision in Bruen, which requires gun control regimes to be "consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
The court later refined the Bruen test in United States v. Rahimi, clarifying that courts do not need to identify a "historic twin" to uphold modern gun restrictions, but instead should look at the "principles underlying historical restrictions on firearms."
Citing Rahimi, Minnesota urged the Supreme Court to reconsider an Eight Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that struck down Minnesota's age limits, but the Supreme Court left the lower court ruling alone. The Eight Circuit found that the age limits do not pass the Bruen test.
“The Second Amendment’s plain text does not have an age limit,” wrote Judge Duane Benton, who was appointed by President George W. Bush.
Moreover, the 26th Amendment unambiguously incorporated young people into the political community by granting them voting rights, the appeals court ruled.
Minnesota argued its "common sense" restrictions were necessary to address gun violence among young people. The state called its limits "modest" since young people can access firearms at any age with parental supervision, and by age 14 they may possess guns unsupervised on their property or for hunting.
Groups including the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, Second Amendment Foundation, and Firearms Policy Coalition challenged Minnesota's restrictions.
"Politicians should carefully consider the legal ramifications of infringing on Second Amendment rights,” Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus (MGOC) Senior Vice President & Political Director Rob Doar said.
“The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus and its allies will relentlessly pursue legal action against any unconstitutional measures introduced in Minnesota.”
The Supreme Court has been slow to intervene in gun disputes since ruling in Rahimi last year, when the court found that people with restraining orders for domestic violence can be temporarily disarmed.
The court's reluctance to revisit the gun debate has cut both ways. While it has resulted in a win for gun rights in Minnesota, the justices recently declined to upset New York's new gun licensing regime, which was adopted in response to Bruen.
