Another Round Fired in the War over the 2nd Amendment
Again, we write about this because it is a domestic problem. For the third consecutive year the leading cause of death among children is gun violence. On January 30, 2025 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that restrictions on gun purchases limiting the rights of people age 18-21 were unconstitutional under the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution.
This case involved federal law which held that persons with a federal license to sell guns could not sell to anyone under 21 years of age. 18 U.S.C. 922 (b)(1)& (c)(1). The 5th Circuit had previously upheld that statute in 2012. N.R.A. v. B.A.T.F., 700 F.3d 185 (2012). But the Supreme Court decision in New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen changed the legal landscape by adopting an originalist model to interpret the Second amendment. In a word, the Supreme Court ruled that all gun regulations needed to look at how these weapons were regulated in 1791 when the Bill of Rights was adopted.
We should add the “well regulated militia” twist. In 18th century America, we followed the precedent of Britain’s Militia Acts of 1757-62. These laws required all men 18-50 to be eligible for service in the militia to defend against the French. The fledgling United States kept the tradition in its 1792 Militia Acts, the second of which mandated that every citizen (women excluded) between 18 and 44 had to register with the militia and acquire a suitable flintlock, a bayonet and 24 cartridges within six months of enrollment. Columbia Sentinel June 2, 1792, page 1.
Unfortunately, the gun culture of the 1790s has almost nothing to do with the 400,000,000 guns in the U.S. today or the 50,000 people they kill each year. Yet, the Fifth Circuit is bound by the precedent of Bruen and more recently the Rahimi case. The Circuit Court notes that if an 18 year old was old enough to serve in the 18th century militia it would seem self-evident that he should be eligible to purchase a weapon. Today, you can join any branch of the service and fight for your country at age 17. The challenge found in Section 922 of Title 18 is that there are some ridiculous grounds to deprive a person of the right to bear arms. Meanwhile, we have witnessed a rise of 60% in the number of kids killed by gunfire over the last decade. That appears to be driven in part by a deadly combination of devices we keep in our dwellings, the main ingredients being guns and the internet. They are convenient appliances when used in the right place and time, but they are leaving many American households without the domestic tranquility our founders wanted us to enjoy.
Reese v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, Reese v ATF opinion | DocumentCloud
For background: