The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed a reply brief in Escher v. Noble, a lawsuit challenging Massachusetts’ ban on the purchase, carry and possession of firearms by 18-20-year-olds.
To purchase or possess a firearm in Massachusetts an individual must first acquire one of two licenses: a firearm identification card or a license to carry. The only option available to 18-20-year-olds, however, is the identification card. Even with the ID card, residents in this age group are only allowed to purchase and possess rifles and shotguns that are not “large capacity” or semi-automatic. Handguns are unattainable entirely.
“There is no historical tradition of stripping certain adults of their gun rights because of their age,” said SAF Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. “And, as we point out in our brief, at the time of the Founding, citizens in this age group were not only allowed to own guns but were required to. At minimum, all adults under 21 are part of “the People” contemplated by the Second Amendment and therefore have every right to purchase, carry and possess firearms.”
SAF is joined in the case by the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners’ Action League, Commonwealth Second Amendment, Firearms Policy Coalition, Gun Owners of America and private citizen Mack Escher.
“We have numerous lawsuits across the nation challenging laws that hinder adults between 18-20 years old from purchasing or possessing firearms,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “You simply cannot ban adults from exercising their Second Amendment rights because of their age. If you’re 18 or older you’re considered an adult as a matter of law, so why then is the Second Amendment treated as a second-class right for this subset of adults?”
For more information visit SAF.org.
About the 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.
