Federal Court Rules That Ban on Handgun Sales for Under 21-Year-Olds Is Unconstitutional

A customer shops for a pistol at Illinois sporting goods store. Scott Olson/Getty Images

A federal appeals court ruled on July 13 that a federal law banning handgun sales to young adults is unconstitutional.

In a 2–1 vote, the three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that a law Congress passed in 1968 that sets a minimum age of 21 for purchasing handguns violates the Second Amendment.