The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has denied Pennsylvania’s petition for an en banc hearing over a challenge to a Commonwealth law banning the carrying of firearms by 18 to 20-year-old residents of the Key Stone State during a declared emergency.
The order denying the request reads: “The petition for rehearing filed by appellant in the above-entitled case having been submitted to the judges who participated in the decision of this Court and to all the other available circuit judges of the circuit in regular active service, and no judge who concurred in the decision having asked for rehearing, and a majority of the judges of the circuit in regular service not having voted for rehearing, the petition for rehearing by the panel and the Court en banc, is denied. Judge Restrepo, Judge Shwartz, Judge Krause, Judge Montgomery-Reeves, and Judge Chung voted to grant the petition for rehearing. Judge Krause would have granted rehearing and files the attached dissent sur denial of rehearing en banc.”
The Commonwealth sought an en banc review of Lara v. Paris. An en banc review means the three-judge panel’s decision would be vacated, and the whole bench would hear the case. The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) brought the case to challenge the Keystone State’s gun law that tried to deprive those under 21 of their Second Amendment-protected right to keep and bear arms during a declared state of emergency. Pennsylvania tried to argue that “the people” referred to those over 21 and those under that age do not have gun rights.
Most court courts believe that “the people” are members of the political class. The political class consists of those who have reached the age of majority. Pennsylvania tried to argue that the age of majority during the founding era was 21. This accusation is technically true, but the militia laws from around the nation at the time of the ratification of the Second Amendment set the age to own a gun at 18 or below. Also, the judges acknowledged that the age of majority changes over time, and even if it were 21 at the founding, it wouldn’t impact their findings. The three-judge panel from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law was unconstitutional and struck it down.
Pennsylvania’s Attorney General’s Office filed the request for an en banc hearing, led by Republican Dave Sunday. Some claim that Mr. Sunday could not have known that an en banc request was being filed since he just took office last month, but Sunday could have withdrawn the request, but he chose not to. The choice could hurt his future political ambitions since he ran on a platform of protecting gun rights.
As of now, the law is dead. The panel’s decision will stand. The only step for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will be to ask the Supreme Court to review the case or let the law stay dead. If Dave Sunday is truly pro-gun and just didn’t have time to withdraw the request for an en banc hearing, then he should have no issue with not filing the petition with SCOTUS. It will be telling if the AG’s office files for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court. Dave Sunday’s political career might hang in the balance of whether to go to SCOTUS or not.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
slowly the goons are getting trampled ,and rights are winning
Having studied the era of our founding as a nation separate from Britain, I can state with certainly that young MEN were typically part of the active town militia as young as fifteen, some even at fourteen, years of age. I know specifically of one Luther Blanchard, of the Acton militia, the group who held the line at the North Bridge of Concord mid-morning on 19th April 1775, the day we took up arms and fought General Gage’s Goons at Lexington then on to Concord. He was sixteen years of age at the time. He was wounded by a ball… Read more »
Didn’t Rahimi cover this? They spent three pages at the start on how batshit violently insane Mr. Rahimi is, and then they say the state can *temporarily* disarm him on that basis. The STRONG underlying concept is, that’s the ONLY reason a state can disarm somebody. That has lots of implications right there. Not just for the 18-20 set. As one example: Hawaii recognizes no other carry permit but their own and won’t let anybody not living in Hawaii score their permit. It’s a total carry ban for non-Hawaiians. That’s completely sideways from Rahimi and the 1999 SCOTUS ruling in… Read more »
Most court courts believe that have democratic judges hare doing the bidden of that party. It is playing out everyday as we watch these judges trying to keep the scales of justice balanced in one direction. Not for all the people only for those that support the democratic agenda. I ask readers how is that those whom have lied elected today are leading protest with more lies remain in office. How appointed judges and district attorneys are keep their jobs along with mayors. Answer Democrats live above and outside the law. Those that support them are worse as they understand… Read more »
It makes me happy to see Restrepo smacked down!
This is great news for Pennsylvania! A few more judges are reading the Second Amendment AS IT WAS WRITTEN!
Good job SAF and FPC!
Now, that Republican AG Sunday should be primaried next time around. Get him out and fast before he has time to do real damage to Pennylvania’s 2A.