The court rejected the state’s appeal of a ruling that said a law banning 18-to-20-year-olds from applying for concealed carry permits violated the Second Amendment.
Enacted state-wide in 2003 in Minnesota, the state passed legislation banned 18-to-20-year-olds from obtaining a concealed carry permit.
In 2023, federal judge in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the law, which prompted the state to ask the Supreme Court to intervene.
On Monday, April 21st, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up the case, meaning Minnesota can no longer enforce the age-restrictive law.
While the Supreme Court’s refusal to take up the lawsuit, the refusal does not set a nationwide precedent.
However, the 8th U.S. Circuit’s decision sets a standard in the seven states in its jurisdiction: Minnesota, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Furthermore, the 8th U.S. Circuit’s decision cited the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen ruling that announced a stringent test that required gun laws to be “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulations” in order to comply with the Second Amendment.
According to the ruling, “Minnesota failed to present evidence of a suitable historical analogue. While a government may disarm those who pose a threat to the physical safety of others, Minnesota has failed to show that 18- to 20-year-olds pose such a threat.”
Read more at Reuters.
