DOJ won't enforce handgun ban for 18- to 20-year-olds
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The Justice Department said Friday it will not criminally enforce a 1968 federal law barring licensed gun dealers from selling handguns to 18- to 20-year-olds, after its Office of Legal Counsel concluded the restriction violated the Second Amendment.
Why it matters: The Trump administration is telling federal prosecutors not to enforce a law passed by Congress, even though the Supreme Court has never ruled on its constitutionality.
- The decision could give adults under the age of 21 access to the country's licensed handgun market, though it remains unclear whether dealers will begin selling to them immediately.
The latest: The Thursday opinion signed by Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser stands as controlling legal advice for the executive branch, though it isn't a court ruling and doesn't bind judges or erase the law.
- Gaiser wrote that 18- to 20-year-olds are adults protected by the Second Amendment, and the right to own handguns includes the ability to buy them.
- While the opinion said criminal enforcement was unconstitutional, it didn't address whether agencies like the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives could continue administrative enforcement of the ban.
- The White House, the Department of Justice, and ATF have not yet responded to Axios' requests for comment.
The other side: Giffords, a gun-safety advocacy group, called the move "illegal and dangerous" and said it would "do everything we can to fight this."
- Kris Brown, president of Brady: United Against Gun Violence, said the opinion "does not change the law itself" and misreads the nation's history of gun regulation.
- "The provision prohibiting the sale of handguns to 18-to-20-year-olds has protected public safety for generations," Brown said in a statement. "This opinion by the Department of Justice is yet more evidence that the Trump administration is prioritizing the gun industry's wishlist, rather than protecting American lives."
State of play: The Supreme Court has denied petitions asking it to decide the constitutionality of state and federal bans for adults younger than 21.
- Federal appellate circuits remain split on whether age restrictions like this can stand. Three have struck down restrictions, while three others have upheld them.
- The Supreme Court's 2022 Bruen decision upended how courts judge gun restrictions, requiring any regulations be consistent with the country's historical tradition of firearm regulation.
What they're saying: Firearms Policy Coalition, one of the plaintiffs challenging the same restriction in an active case, said the "federal government cannot justify denying [18- to 20-year-olds] access to handguns based solely on age."
- The gun-rights advocacy group said while it agrees with the opinion's rationale, it wants the DOJ to go further, including covering handgun ammunition.
Reality check: The group isn't yet telling licensed dealers they can begin making the sales.
- "ATF's currently published dealer guidance still reflects the age restriction, so we are reviewing how ATF implements the opinion before giving broader guidance."
- Other federal requirements and state laws also still apply, FPC said.
The big picture: The move is part of President Trump's broader effort to reshape gun policy.
- Trump ordered then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to examine regulations, enforcement and litigation for potential infringements of Second Amendment rights.
- After OLC concluded in January that a nearly century-old ban on mailing handguns was unconstitutional, the Postal Service proposed allowing lawful handguns to be mailed under the same conditions as rifles and shotguns.
- Federal agencies have scrapped enforcement policies and proposed new rules that gun-rights groups have long asked for.
