After defeating Pennsylvania’s age-based carry restrictions in the Third Circuit, FPC and NRA return to federal court to challenge the Commonwealth’s ban on licensed carry by 18-to-20-year-old adults.

PHILADELPHIA (October 29, 2026) — Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced today that it filed a new federal Second Amendment lawsuit, Maines v. Bethel, challenging Pennsylvania’s unconstitutional ban on lawful firearm carry in most public places by adults under 21. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the lawsuit is brought by FPC and the National Rifle Association (NRA), alongside a member whose right to carry firearms for self-defense is being denied by the Commonwealth.

Under Pennsylvania law, individuals generally must obtain a license to carry a concealed firearm, carry a firearm in a vehicle, or carry a firearm in public in Philadelphia. But Pennsylvania categorically prohibits adults under 21 from even applying for the license they need to exercise those rights. As a result, peaceable 18-to-20-year-old adults who are legally eligible to possess firearms face criminal prosecution, potentially including felony charges and years in prison, simply for exercising the same rights available to other adults.

Although Pennsylvania generally allows unlicensed open carry in some circumstances, that does not solve the problem. Adults under 21 still cannot generally carry firearms for self-defense in their vehicles or on Philadelphia’s public streets. Even a routine trip to work, the grocery store, or another destination by car can put the exercise of their rights out of reach.

The consequences extend even further because of the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act. That federal law generally criminalizes firearm possession within 1,000 feet of school grounds unless the person has a qualifying license issued by the state where the school is located or qualifies for another narrow exception. Because Pennsylvania refuses to issue carry licenses to 18-to-20-year-old adults, even those who could otherwise lawfully carry firearms openly under state law face federal criminal prosecution for carrying through these expansive school zones. Pennsylvania's age-based licensing ban thus creates a massive labyrinth of prohibited areas throughout the Commonwealth, effectively disarming peaceable adults under 21 across vast portions of the places they live, work, and travel.

“Pennsylvania already lost in the Third Circuit when it tried to deny 18-to-20-year-olds their right to carry firearms, but the Commonwealth still insists on treating peaceable adults as second-class citizens,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “At 18, you can vote, get married, sign contracts, and serve in the military—but Pennsylvania says you can't even apply for a license to carry a gun in your own car or on a street in Philadelphia. And thanks to the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, Pennsylvania's refusal to issue these licenses also turns ordinary streets and neighborhoods within 1,000 feet of schools into a massive federal criminal trap for legal adults exercising their rights. That's unconstitutional, immoral, and indefensible. Fundamental rights aren't privileges that politicians get to hand out whenever they feel like it. We've beaten age-based bans before, including in Pennsylvania, and we're coming back to finish the job. FPC and our Grassroots Army will continue to Fight Forward until every unconstitutional age-based ban is eliminated and all peaceable adults can exercise their rights when, where, and how they choose.”

This latest challenge builds directly on FPC’s successful litigation against Pennsylvania’s age-based carry restrictions. In Lara v. Paris, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that 18-to-20-year-old adults are protected by the Second Amendment and rejected Pennsylvania’s restrictions on their ability to openly carry firearms during declared emergencies. After the Supreme Court returned the case for reconsideration, the Third Circuit reaffirmed its decision in January 2025.

But despite that binding precedent, Pennsylvania continues to enforce its separate licensing restriction, denying these same adults the ability to obtain carry licenses and exercise their rights on equal terms with other peaceable adults.

The complaint argues that Pennsylvania’s licensing ban violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. As the Third Circuit recognized in Lara, 18-to-20-year-old adults are among “the people” whose rights the Second Amendment protects. And under the Supreme Court’s decisions in Bruen and Rahimi, Pennsylvania bears the burden of establishing a historical tradition that justifies excluding these adults from exercising their rights. FPC argues that no such tradition exists.

The Maines case, which seeks a declaration that 18-to-20-year-old adults have a constitutionally protected right to carry firearms outside the home and an injunction against enforcement of the ban, is the latest step in FPC’s broader effort concerning age-based denial of rights. In Worth v. Jacobson, the Eighth Circuit found that Minnesota’s age based carry permit ban violates the Second Amendment. In Lara v. Paris, the Third Circuit held that Pennsylvania’s age-based restrictions on open carry during declared emergencies violated the Second Amendment. FPC is also currently challenging age-based carry bans in Illinois (Meyer v. Raoul), Georgia (Baughcum v. Jackson), and Louisiana (Pool v. Besson). Through these cases and its broader nationwide litigation campaign, FPC continues to Fight Forward and work to eliminate unconstitutional restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms throughout the United States.

FPC thanks the individual member standing up for his rights, the National Rifle Association for joining this important lawsuit, and the legal teams at Benbrook Law Group, P.C., and Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, LLC, for their work advancing this important case. FPC also thanks its Grassroots Army members and supporters for making its litigation, research, and other programs possible.

Individuals who want to join FPC and support its work to restore liberty throughout the United States can join the FPC Grassroots Army at JoinFPC.org.

About Firearms Policy Coalition

Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) is a nonprofit membership organization that exists to create a world of maximal individual liberty and eliminate unconstitutional gun control laws. FPC works—and wins—for the People through high-impact strategic litigation, groundbreaking research, legislative and regulatory advocacy, grassroots activism, education, and public engagement. FPC’s legal division, FPC Law, is the nation’s leading initiative dedicated to restoring the right to keep and bear arms across the United States. To learn more about how FPC is working—and winning—for the People, sign up for FPC news alerts at firearmspolicy.org and follow FPC on X, Instagram, and Facebook.