Gunowner-rights groups scored an important victory in the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals with at least a temporary legal win halting a federal prohibition on handgun sales to young adults.
Writing for the court, Circuit Judge Edith Hollan Jones, a Ronald Reagan appointee, stated, “Ultimately, the text of the Second Amendment includes eighteen-to-twenty-year-old individuals among ‘the people’ whose right to keep and bear arms is protected. The federal government has presented scant evidence that eighteen-to-twenty-year-olds’ firearm rights during the founding-era were restricted in a similar manner to the contemporary federal handgun purchase ban, and its 19th century evidence ‘cannot provide much insight into the meaning of the Second Amendment when it contradicts earlier evidence.’ In sum, 18 U.S.C. §§ 992(b)(1), (c)(1) and their attendant regulations are unconstitutional in light of our Nation’s historic tradition of firearm regulation. We REVERSE the district court’s judgment and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
Judge Jones was part of a unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel in Reese v. ATF, decided on January 30, 2025. Joining Judge Jones are Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, a George W. Bush appointee, and Circuit Judge Rhesa Hawkins Barksdale, a George H.W. Bush appointee. Their decision relies on guidelines set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2022 Bruen ruling.
Two private citizens were party to the appeal: Emily Naquin and Caleb Reese, for whom the case is named. Gun-rights groups included in the appeal are the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), and the Louisiana Shooting Association.
“We’re delighted the Fifth Circuit took this action,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “We have always maintained that young adults, who can vote, join the military, get married, enter into contracts and even run for office, can also enjoy the full rights of citizenship, which includes rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment. If we can trust young adults to defend our country, we can certainly trust them to own any and all legal firearms.”
“Today’s ruling is yet another critical FPC win against an immoral and unconstitutional age-based gun ban. We look forward to restoring the Second Amendment rights of all peaceable adults throughout the United States,” said FPC President Brandon Combs
“Today the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed what prior courts and common sense tell us: ‘that the right to keep and bear arms surely implies the ability to purchase them,’” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “Adults 18 to 20 years old are indisputably part of the People, whose rights under the Constitution are no less than their father’s or their grandfather’s.”
