The case is Hirschfeld & Marshall v. BATFE, and the ruling came down today, July 13, 2021.
Plaintiffs seek an injunction and a declaratory judgment that several federal laws and regulations that prevent federally licensed gun dealers from selling handguns to any 18-, 19-, or 20-year-old violate the Second Amendment. We first find that 18-year-olds possess Second Amendment rights.
The feds will certainly request an en banc review by the full 4th Circuit Court. In the unlikely event that the full court upholds this ruling, The Supreme Court will — once again — be in a crack. Since MCDONALD, SCOTUS has done their utmost to avoid making any truly significant Second Amendment rulings. They won’t want to take this case, so the weasel-wording in dodging should be interesting.
Unless they simply deny cert without comment. Again.
But back to this ruling. I found the reasoning fascinating, because the justices used the very same argument that I have used for years: The Militia Act of 1792, passed less than six months after ratification of the Second Amendment, clearly establishes that 18 year-olds are part of the militia described the Amendment.
Every militia law near the time of ratification required 18-year-olds to be part of the militia and bring their own arms. Around the time the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791, Congress began debating invoking its power under the Militia Clauses to better organize the militias for federal use in emergencies. U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cls. 15–16. The effort was pushed by Secretary of War Henry Knox, who argued to Congress that while the “military age has generally commenced at sixteen,” the age for the federal select militia should be set at 18 because “the youth of sixteen do not commonly attain such a degree of robust strength as to enable them to sustain without injury the hardships incident to the field.”
I would further note that the current militia composition law, 10 U.S. Code § 246, sets the minimum age a little lower.
(a)The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age…
Chief InJustice John Roberts must be peeing his panties right about now. If this stands, the precedent will be used to challenge every state and local law on age limits for carry, licensing, and more.
