“If 18-to-20-year-olds are, as DOJ says, fully members of ‘the people’ entitled to the same Second Amendment rights as adults over age 21, then the Government cannot in the same breath constitutionally single them out for a mandatory, categorical delay in acquiring ‘Arms.’”
Gun Owners of America and Gun Owners Foundation have filed a new lawsuit challenging the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act's enhanced background-check requirements for firearm purchasers under 21. These provisions subject young adults to additional inquiries into juvenile and mental-health records, often delaying firearm transfers for days or even weeks, despite their legal eligibility to own firearms. The lawsuit argues that these mandatory, age-based delays violate the Second Amendment and lack any historical basis in the Nation's tradition of firearm regulation. With the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel recently recognizing that law-abiding adults ages 18–20 possess Second Amendment rights, GOA and GOF are asking the court to stop the government from enforcing these unconstitutional restrictions.
