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The National Rifle Association has filed a petition asking the US Supreme Court to review a Florida law that raised the minimum age to purchase rifles and other long guns from 18 to 21.
The law was enacted in 2018 following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Lawmakers said the age increase was meant to “address the crisis of violence, including but not limited to, gun violence on school campuses,” according to CBS News.
Shortly after it went into effect, the NRA filed a lawsuit challenging the law, arguing it violated the Second Amendment. In March, the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law, ruling it was “consistent with our historical tradition of firearm regulation,” the standard set by the Supreme Court for evaluating gun control laws.
On Friday, the NRA filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court, pointing to a January ruling by the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals that found a federal ban on handgun sales to adults under 21 unconstitutional. The NRA argued that the conflicting rulings represent a “split between the circuits over so fundamental a question” and called on the Supreme Court to resolve the issue.
The NRA also disputed the reasoning used by the 11th Circuit. Chief Judge William Pryor wrote that the Florida law fits within the nation’s historical gun regulatory tradition because “minors have yet to reach the age of reason.” He noted that while Florida bans firearm purchases by 18-to-20-year-olds, it still allows them to receive firearms from parents or other responsible adults.
The NRA rejected that logic, asserting that 18-to-20-year-olds in Florida are legal adults and should be entitled to full Second Amendment protections.
“The founding-era rule, even by the en banc (full court) majority’s lights, only limited the right to keep and bear arms of legal minors – persons who were not treated as adults for most other purposes and who remained within the care, custody and protection of their parents,” the NRA wrote. “But Florida’s law strips the right to acquire firearms from legal adults – 18-to-20-year-olds who enjoy the practical and legal benefits of adulthood, who are not within the custody or protection of their parents, and who often have families of their own.”
The organization also argued there is “strong historical evidence” that adults aged 18 to 20 have long been recognized as having Second Amendment rights.
“In states across the country, 18-to-20-year-olds are considered legal adults for virtually all purposes: they may make contracts, vote, serve on juries, petition the government, freely express their views, and serve in (or be conscripted into) the armed services,” the petition added.
