Pennsylvania Gun Restrictions for Young People Unconstitutional: Appeals Court

U.S. Circuit Judge Kent A. Jordan said in a new opinion that the Second Amendment applies to all adults, not just those 21 and older.

Guns in Pennsylvania in an undated file photograph. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Pennsylvania laws imposing restrictions on gun possession for young people are unconstitutional, a federal appeals court said in a new, split ruling.

A panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reconsidered whether Pennsylvania’s ban on 18- to 20-year-olds openly carrying guns during emergencies was constitutional after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024 remanded the case back to the circuit court.