BELLEVUE, Wash. — Attorneys representing the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed a response brief with the U.S. Supreme Court encouraging the justices to consider the case, in a challenge to Pennsylvania state law which prohibits adults under 21 years of age from carrying firearms during a declared state of emergency.
Joining Second Amendment Foundation in the case, Madison Lara v. Commissioner Pennsylvania State Police, are the Firearms Policy Coalition and three individuals.
“In a unique twist, we agree with the state that the High Court should hear the case,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “The benefit of having the Supreme Court take the case is that the Court could finally and conclusively establish that 18-20-year-olds are members of ‘the People’ who have the same Second Amendment rights as other adults. The Third Circuit has reached this conclusion on two separate occasions, yet the state simply refuses to acquiesce and continues to spend taxpayer dollars to fight a losing battle.”
Originally filed in 2021, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled twice in SAF’s favor. After the initial ruling, the state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court which, in turn, remanded the case back to the Third Circuit to reconsider in light of the high court’s ruling in Rahimi. The Third Circuit determined that Rahimi changed nothing about their analysis and once again ruled for the plaintiffs. The circuit court then ordered the district court to enter an injunction in SAF’s favor. After being denied en banc review, the state has once again petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case.
“Second Amendment rights apply to all adults, regardless of age,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Adults who are 18-20 years old are certainly part of ‘the People’ and are therefore afforded the same constitutional rights as those 21 and older. As noted in our response brief, we are asking the Supreme Court to answer the question once and for all – do 18-20-year-olds have the same Second Amendment rights as other American adults? We think the answer is unequivocally a resounding ‘yes’.”
For more information visit SAF.org.
Second Amendment Foundation
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.
Look, it’s as simple as this. Either you get all of the “cool perks” when you turn 18 or you don’t. If you DON’T, then change the legal age of adulthood to whatever mythical number “they” say it should be. That means no voting, selective service, enlistment, or anything else. And while you’re at it, why not move the NATIONAL driving age up to that mythical number as well. No sense it letting a teenager have access to a “assault vehicle” when they’re that young.
18 year olds have to register for draft
These are the same Marxocrats that, years ago, wanted to bar returning veterans from owning firearms (for safety). Now they try to block the 18yo
from accessing arms. Not long ago the Marxocrats wanted the voting age
lowered to 16yo.
PA is setting up to activate the New York protocol … They will run
it down to the wire, and cave just ahead of the court date. the case
(now moot) will fall off the docket, and they will once again refuse
to comply.
Lets see, an 18 year old is legal to join the military be trained as a killer and carry automatic weapons to all points of the compass. So whats the problem with an 18 year old having a firearm during a declared state of emergency?