A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th circuit ruled that 18-to-20-year-olds HAVE SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS to gun ownership which are violated with these new 21-plus regulations.
Judge Julius N. Richardson wrote:
“...despite the weighty interest in reducing crime and violence, we refuse to relegate either the Second Amendment or 18- to-20-year-olds to a second-class status”...
"When do constitutional rights vest? At 18 or 21? 16 or 25? Why not 13 or 33? In the law, a line must sometimes be drawn. But there must be a reason why constitutional rights cannot be enjoyed until a certain age. Our nation’s most cherished constitutional rights vest no later than 18. And the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms is no different...
Richardson noted that when the 2nd Amendment was crafted 18-year-olds were:
"required at the time of the Founding to serve in the militia and furnish their own weapons...Militia laws are helpful because they provide a baseline for determining the relevant political community that enjoyed Second Amendment rights. They support the affirmative conclusion that 18-year-olds are protected by the Second Amendment. But even if history were less clear, 18-year-olds would not necessarily be excluded from the Second Amendment's protections."
The challenge was brought by Natalia Marshall a young adult seeking to buy a handgun for protection from a violent ex.
"Marshall, 19, had obtained a protective order against an abusive ex-boyfriend who had been arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm and controlled substances."
Court documents also state that Marshall "grew up training with guns" and believes that a handgun "makes the most effective tool for her protection" due to its ease of carrying, training and use".
Judge Richardson was joined in his decision with Judge G. Steven Agee. They both also expressed concerns that these restrictions on buyers 18-21 drive people to unlicensed dealers who are not subject to perform background checks.