Updates in Under-21 Handgun Ban and New York Carry Cases in Today's FPC Daily 2A Legal Update

7/13/21

In today's FPC legal update, we have updates from a lawsuit challenging the federal ban on FFL handgun sales to under-21 adults and a lawsuit challenging New York's restrictive carry laws.

Hirschfeld v. ATF

Issue: Under-21 handgun ban

Court: Fourth Circuit

Action: Opinion

In this case challenging the federal prohibition on FFL handgun sales to under-21 adults, a 3-judge panel at the Fourth Circuit determined that "[o]ur 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."

"Looking through this historical lens to the text and structure of the Constitution reveals that 18- to 20-year-olds have Second Amendment rights," said the court. "Virtually every other constitutional right applies whatever the age. And the Second Amendment is no different."

If the government wishes to appeal the ruling, it can file a petition for an en banc rehearing (which is heard before the entire Fourth Circuit). The full court is not required to take up the case, however.

NYSRPA v. Bruen

Issue: New York carry laws

Court: Supreme Court

Action: Brief for petitioners

The parties challenging New York's “proper cause” scheme for the issuance of licenses to carry arms in public filed their brief on the merits, which argues that the state's "regime is irreconcilable with the text, history, and tradition of the Second Amendment," and that "[f]ounding-era cases, commentaries, and laws on both sides of the Atlantic, most of which were surveyed in Heller, confirm that the founding generation understood the Second Amendment and its English predecessor to guarantee a right to carry common arms for self-defense." The state's response is due on September 14th, and the Supreme Court is on track to hear oral arguments for this case in the fall.