Reuters
A legal challenge against Florida's statute prohibiting adults aged 18 to 20
from purchasing rifles and shotguns is prepared for a review by the entire
11th Circuit Court of Appeals. On March 9, a panel consisting of three judges
from the 11th Circuit Court had previously upheld Florida's ban on gun
purchases for those under 21. However, on July 16, the court retracted this
verdict, announcing it would reexamine the lawsuit in a full-court review, or
en banc, where all court members will engage in a detailed discussion on the
statute.
The lawsuit, filed by the
National Rifle Association
against Bondi, contests a hastily enacted law initiated in the aftermath of
a devastating mass shooting incident at a school in Parkland, Florida.
Shortly after the implementation of the law, the
NRA
launched the lawsuit. The
National Shooting Sports Foundation
(NSSF), which had opposed the law since its initial proposal, has backed
this most recent challenge by filing an amicus brief, says Mark Oliva, the
managing director of public affairs at NSSF.
In an exclusive conversation with Firearms News, Oliva described the Florida
law, which prohibits firearms sales to individuals under 21, as
fundamentally defective. "At 18, all Americans are entitled to their civil
liberties, which include the right to own and carry weapons, a right endowed
by their Creator and not to be taken away by the Florida government," Oliva
said.
He mentioned that any regulations that limit the constitutional rights of
individuals aged 18 to 20 would likely be deemed unconstitutional, though
courts often seem to give less weight to Second Amendment rights. Oliva
emphasized, “Denying the rights of free speech, free exercise of religion,
or free assembly would not be accepted, yet this law reduced the Second
Amendment to a secondary right, which is constitutionally unsound." He added
that concerns about excluding a minor's criminal record from background
checks, which could prohibit firearm possession, were addressed in the
Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. "This law was incorrect from its inception
and only prevents law-abiding adults from fully exercising their rights."
Ever since the law's enactment, the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action
has consistently pointed out its flaws. After the law was first reluctantly
upheld by a federal judge in 2021, the NRA-ILA declared, "It is undeniable
that 18- to 20-year-olds are considered adults by the law and the
Constitution. Depriving these younger adults of their rights due to criminal
acts is pure political discrimination and contradicts the U.S. Supreme
Court's Heller decision."
The case for allowing 18- to 20-year-olds to purchase long guns has been
further bolstered by the previous year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling in New
York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which established a fresh
benchmark for adjudicating Second Amendment cases. Under the new standard
from the Bruen case, the courts now need to establish whether the behavior
that the government wants to restrict is covered by the "plain text" of the
Second Amendment. If it is, the government must prove that its regulation
aligns with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation. If it
fails to meet this burden, the challenged law cannot be upheld. The ban on
adults aged 18 to 20 likely violates both elements of this standard. The
date for the oral arguments in the case has not yet been scheduled.
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