A federal judge overturned a provision in Pennsylvania’s concealed carry law which previously banned those aged 18-20 from carrying pistols. The move came amid a wider push among states to restrict gun ownership to those under the age of 21.
In Lara v. Evanchick, U.S. District Court Judge William S. Stickman determined that the provision barring adults under the age of 21 from being able to conceal carry was unconstitutional. The case was brought by three private citizens and the Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition.
The judge cited several important recent Second Amendment cases and wrote that the state’s decision was incorrect.
Second Amendment Foundation executive director Adam Kraut said tat the decision allowed for such young adults to “apply for License to Carry Firearms and the state’s draconian transportation laws have been enjoined from enforcement. This is a victory for Second Amendment rights in PA.”
The decision also comes in the face of several other laws, including in New York and New Jersey that have slightly loosened pistol restrictions.
Pennsylvania young adults aged 18, 19 and 20 years old can now apply for a concealed carry license in the Keystone State.
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The decision in Pennsylvania comes as gun rights again emerged as a major issue in Washington. During testimony from Attorney General Merrick Garland, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) questioned budgetary spending that he said did not protect Second Amendment rights.
Clyde asked if anyone around Garland had been prosecuted for depriving individuals of their Second Amendment rights, which Clyde said “was a civil right.”
The representative further said that the Department of Justice (DOJ) should investigate when citizens were deprived of their Second Amendment rights.
There has also been a wider movement to limit restrictions on concealed carry rights. Last year Florida became the 26th state in the Union to allow for constitutional carry without the need of a permit for a large majority of the state’s residents.
The movement for permitless carry has grown in other states, as well. Over the last thirty years the number of states allowing such ability increased from one to the majority of the states in the country.
