The Justice Department says a federal law banning licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to 18- to 20-year-olds is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. A legal opinion released Friday from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel argues the Second Amendment protects the right to own handguns, even for adults who are still legally minors in other ways.
Assistant Attorney General Elliot Gaiser, who leads the Office of Legal Counsel, said in a statement: “Eighteen-year-olds may vote, serve on juries, be drafted, and face adult criminal penalties, including capital punishment.” He added: “The Constitution protects the people’s right to keep and bear arms. 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.”
The Law at Issue
The federal law at the center of the opinion requires people to be 21 to purchase a handgun from a licensed federal firearms dealer. That restriction applies only to licensed dealers; 18- to 20-year-olds can still buy handguns from private sellers. There is no age limit for long guns purchased from licensed dealers, which remain legal to buy at 18.
Federal appeals courts have split on whether handgun age limits are constitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on the federal law since the 2022 landmark decision that changed the test used to evaluate challenges to firearm restrictions.
Gun rights groups have won victories under the second Trump administration, which has rolled back some firearms regulations and created a new pathway for people barred from owning firearms due to criminal convictions to apply to have their gun rights reinstated.
The Public Safety Pushback
Eric Tirschwell, executive director of Everytown Law, called the opinion misguided and dangerous in an emailed statement. He argued the ban serves a specific public safety purpose by targeting the highest-risk age group for handgun violence.
Tirschwell said: “Federal prosecutors nationwide will stop holding illegal sellers of handguns to 18- to 20-year-olds accountable if they know the DOJ has pulled the rug out from under them.” He also said: “Abandoning protections that target the highest-risk age group for handgun violence isn’t just an unconscionable surrender of public safety — it is a dangerous dereliction of duty.”
| Group | Position |
|---|---|
| Justice Department | The Second Amendment protects handgun ownership for adults who can vote, serve on juries, and face adult criminal penalties. |
| Everytown Law | Abandoning the ban is a dangerous dereliction of duty that surrenders public safety. |
What the Opinion Changes
The opinion states the law violates the Second Amendment. It follows a broader pattern of legal arguments from gun rights advocates who say the right to keep and bear arms applies to all law-abiding adults, regardless of age.
The split among federal appeals courts means the question could eventually reach the Supreme Court. The opinion bars prosecution of dealers who sell handguns to 18- to 20-year-olds, according to the Justice Department’s position.
The opinion does not change the private-sale loophole. 18- to 20-year-olds can still buy handguns from individuals who are not licensed dealers.
Here is what the opinion does:
- Bars prosecution of dealers who sell handguns to 18- to 20-year-olds
- Follows a broader pattern of legal arguments from gun rights advocates
- Does not change the private-sale loophole for handguns
- Leaves open the possibility the Supreme Court will eventually decide the issue
The opinion is a legal judgment from the Office of Legal Counsel. The split among appeals courts suggests the issue is far from settled. But for now, the Justice Department has said it will not prosecute dealers who sell handguns to 18- to 20-year-olds.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs the Justice Department’s opinion that the handgun-sales ban is unconstitutional and is against efforts to enforce a federal law that restricts lawful handgun sales to adults under 21. The opinion rests on a simple principle: the Second Amendment protects the right to own handguns, and that protection extends to adults who are otherwise treated as full members of the political community — voting, serving on juries, facing adult criminal penalties, including death.
The paper supports gun owners and whoever is defending that right, and opposes registries, confiscation schemes and rules that make lawful ownership harder. The opinion does nothing to close the private-sale loophole, so 18- to 20-year-olds can still buy handguns from individuals who are not licensed dealers. The paper would prefer that loophole were closed through regulation rather than enforcement, but it backs the constitutional reasoning here.
Readers should watch for the split among federal appeals courts, which means the Supreme Court may ultimately settle this issue. Until then, the Justice Department has made its position clear: it will not prosecute dealers who sell handguns to 18- to 20-year-olds.
Source material: “Ban on selling handguns to young adults under 21 deemed unconstitutional, DOJ says,” the New York Post.
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