Post-Parkland Florida law raising minimum gun purchase age to 21 remains in effect

(CNN) – A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a Florida law passed following the massacre at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School that raised the minimum age for gun purchases from 18 to 21.

A 3-0 decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes as age limits are becoming a flashpoint in legal battles over gun access, as the Supreme Court set out a new test last year to determine the constitutionality of a gun restriction. possession of weapons. .

On February 14, 2018, a shooting of a 19-year-old teenager killed 17 people.

In an opinion written by District Judge Robin Rosenbaum, the panel concluded that Florida’s law “is consistent with our country’s historical tradition in the field of firearms regulation”—a reference to last year’s landmark Supreme Court Second Amendment ruling that directs courts to ensure that to ensure that the restriction on firearms has historical counterparts when assessing the constitutionality of the restriction.

The National Rifle Association challenged the Florida law shortly after it was signed into law in March 2018.

The solution may also be short-lived. Republican lawmakers this week introduced a bill that would lower the minimum age required to purchase a firearm in the state from 21 to 18.

An NRA spokesperson said in a statement that the association is “disappointed” with the decision and that it is “currently evaluating our appeal options.”

“The NRA also hopes the Florida legislature will address this issue and lift this unconstitutional ban,” spokeswoman Amy Hunter said in a statement.

In his view, the 11th District pointed to laws preventing young people from owning firearms that were enacted by the states around the same time that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution was passed, which extended Second Amendment protection to the states.

“Between the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment and the end of the nineteenth century, at least sixteen states and the District of Columbia joined Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee—at least twenty jurisdictions in total—in banning the sale of firearms to persons between 18 and 20 years of age. one-year-olds,” wrote Rosenbaum. “These regulations, like their predecessors prior to ratification, were the state’s response to the problem of death and injury caused by underage firearm users.”

Much of the 11th Circuit’s opinion concerns the issue left open by the June Supreme Court decision known as the New York State Shooters and Pistols Association, Inc. v. Bruen: Should the Courts Rely on Historical Data on the Ratification of the Second Amendment in 1791. or the ratification of the 14th Amendment in the 1860s.

The 11th District, arguing for the later interpretation, stated that “it makes no sense to assume that the states would have bound themselves to an understanding of the Bill of Rights, including an understanding of the Second Amendment, which they did. not share when they ratified the Fourteenth Amendment.”

Rosembaum, appointed by Obama, joined the decision of District Judge Charles Wilson, appointed by President Bill Clinton, and District Judge Ann Conway, appointed by George W. Bush.

Legal experts say the U.S. Supreme Court will once again have to weigh the scope of gun rights protection provided by the Constitution and clarify post-Bruen legal issues.

Prior to Brewen’s decision, some appellate courts upheld similar age limits on carrying weapons, while others held the rules unconstitutional.

Florida Attorney General’s Office spokesman Chase Sizemore did not comment on the decision in response to a CNN question, but noted an upcoming bill to change the law.

“The Attorney General’s duty is to represent the state of Florida, and as you know, the legislature will be considering amendments to the law in this session,” Sizemore said.

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