DOJ Declares Federal Ban on Handgun Sales to Adults Under 21 Unconstitutional
The Justice Department has concluded that a longstanding federal prohibition preventing licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to adults between the ages of 18 and 20 violates the Second Amendment and cannot be criminally enforced.
The determination was issued by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which examined federal statutes generally prohibiting federally licensed dealers from selling handguns or handgun ammunition to anyone under 21. The restrictions date back to the Gun Control Act of 1968.
The department concluded that Americans between 18 and 20 are members of “the people” protected by the Second Amendment and that handguns qualify as weapons commonly used for lawful purposes such as self-defense.
Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser pointed to the other rights and responsibilities Americans receive upon reaching adulthood. He noted that 18-year-olds can vote, serve on juries, be drafted into military service and face the full consequences of the adult criminal justice system.
The Justice Department also examined historical firearm regulations to determine whether comparable restrictions existed around the time of the nation’s founding. The Office of Legal Counsel said it found no historical tradition of preventing otherwise law-abiding adults from purchasing firearms based solely on being younger than 21.
Instead, the department pointed to Founding-era militia laws that frequently required men to begin militia service at 18 and, in many cases, required them to supply their own weapons. The DOJ concluded that this history did not support the federal government’s current age restriction.
The decision means federal prosecutors will not seek criminal penalties against licensed firearms dealers for selling handguns to otherwise law-abiding adults between 18 and 20 under the statutes addressed by the opinion. The Trump administration also does not intend to defend the federal restriction in court.
The federal law had created an unusual distinction for younger adults. People between 18 and 20 could legally acquire handguns through certain private transactions where permitted, but they could not purchase the same firearm directly from a federally licensed dealer. Federal law separately allows licensed dealers to sell rifles and shotguns to buyers beginning at 18.
Federal courts have disagreed over whether restrictions on handgun purchases by younger adults comply with the Second Amendment following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. The Supreme Court has not yet directly resolved the constitutionality of the federal handgun restriction for 18- to 20-year-olds.
The DOJ opinion applies to federal enforcement and does not automatically invalidate separate state laws setting a minimum age of 21 for handgun purchases. States with their own restrictions could continue enforcing those laws unless they are separately struck down by the courts.