The National Rifle Association (NRA) has filed a petition to the US Supreme Court, asking it to allow licensed gun dealers to sell handguns to youths between the ages of 18 and 21.
The appeal filed by the NRA and two 19-year olds is a fresh attempt to overturn a 1968 law which bars federally licensed dealers from selling handguns and handgun ammunition to people between ages 18 and 21.
The law was challenged in court last year, where it was unanimously upheld by a three-judge panel for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“This categorical burden on the fundamental right to keep and bear arms passes constitutional muster because law-abiding young adults likely do not possess Second Amendment rights at all,” the petition reads.
The current legislation does, however, leave quite a number of options for people older than 18 and younger than 21 to obtain weapons, as they are still allowed to purchase shotguns and rifles from licensed dealers. As for handguns, they can get a hold of them as well, provided they receive them as gifts or purchase them from private owners.
The National Rifle Association first challenged the 1968 law in 2010, pointing at the discrepancy between youths being allowed to have guns but not being allowed to buy them from licensed dealers.
In 2012 the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled to uphold the law, with Judge Edward Prado justifying the restriction on minors under 21 from purchasing guns by saying that “Congress found that they tend to be relatively immature and that denying them easy access to handguns would deter violent crime.”