The new position concerns licensed handgun sales to otherwise law-abiding adults between 18 and 20.
The Trump Justice Department announced Friday that a longstanding federal restriction blocking federally licensed gun dealers from selling handguns to law-abiding adults between the ages of 18 and 20 is unconstitutional and cannot be criminally enforced.
The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded that federal statutes restricting licensed handgun sales to adults under 21 violate the Second Amendment as applied to otherwise law-abiding 18-to-20-year-olds.
The opinion marks a significant shift in the federal government’s position on the gun rights of young adults.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(1) and (c)(1), federally licensed firearms dealers have generally been prohibited from selling handguns or handgun ammunition to anyone under the age of 21.
DOJ now says those provisions cannot constitutionally be used to impose criminal penalties on licensed dealers who sell handguns to otherwise lawful adults between 18 and 20.
The Office of Legal Counsel concluded that Americans in that age group are among “the people” protected by the Second Amendment.
Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser pointed to the numerous other rights and responsibilities Americans receive beginning at age 18.
“Eighteen-year-olds may vote, serve on juries, be drafted, and face adult criminal penalties, including capital punishment,” Gaiser said.
“The Constitution protects the people’s right to keep and bear arms,” he continued. “The Department of Justice may not constitutionally seek to impose criminal penalties on dealers who sell handguns to law-abiding adults who, in nearly every other relevant respect, are members of the political community.”