NEW ORLEANS, LA (July 26, 2024) – Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced the filing of a supplemental brief with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in its Reese v. ATF federal Second Amendment lawsuit, challenging the federal government’s handgun ban for adults aged 18 to 20 years old. The filing can be found at FPCLegal.org.

“The Supreme Court's decision in Rahimi further confirms that the government's ban on firearm and ammunition sales to adults under the age of 21 is unconstitutional under the correct historical analysis,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “We look forward to eliminating this immoral ban just as we have similar age-based restrictions.”

FPC’s brief, requested in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Rahimi, argues that Rahimi reaffirms that the Second Amendment’s plain text extends to all people and that no relevant historical tradition prohibits peaceable adults from buying firearms. In opposition to ATF’s claims, FPC insists that the founding era is the critical period for understanding the scope of the Second Amendment, and that Rahimi undermines the government’s 19th-century historical arguments.

This challenge was brought as part of FPC’s high-impact FPC Law strategic litigation program, which aims to eliminate disarmament regimes and restore the natural right to keep and bear arms.

FPC is joined in this case by three individual FPC members, Louisiana Shooting Association, and Second Amendment Foundation. The plaintiffs are represented by Armbruster & Associates, APLC, and Cooper & Kirk, PLLC.

Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit membership organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. We work to achieve our strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs. Our FPC Law program (FPCLaw.org) is the nation’s preeminent legal action initiative focused on restoring the right to keep and bear arms throughout the United States. Individuals who want to support FPC’s work to eliminate unconstitutional laws can join the FPC Grassroots Army at JoinFPC.org or make a donation at firearmspolicy.org/donate. For more on FPC’s lawsuits and other pro-Second Amendment initiatives, visit FPCLegal.org and follow FPC on Instagram, X (Twitter), Facebook, YouTube.