By Reuters via
NBC News
A federal judge in Texas on Thursday overturned a state measure that prohibited people between the ages of 18 and 20 from carrying firearms, in the first major court decision since the landmark ruling on the right to guns issued by the United States Supreme Court in June.
This Texas law, which prevents young adults not in active military service from carrying firearms in public, was challenged in 2021 by the Gun Policy Coalition, a gun owner's rights group.
An attendee holds a Glock pistol during the NRA annual meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on May 28, 2022. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP - Getty Images
The association argued that the ban violated the Second Amendment of the Constitution, according to which states can organize militias and that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
The Supreme Court ruled in June for the first time that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual's right to bear arms in public to defend himself.
This decision parallelly ordered the federal judiciary to apply a "historical only" test when considering challenges to gun regulations, arguing that a regulation is constitutional only if it is similar to those existing in the 18th century, when the Second Amendment was ratified. .
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Judge Mark Pittman of the US District Court in Fort Worth ruled that there was no historical tradition preventing young adults from carrying weapons in public, in an opinion that repeatedly cited the high court's ruling.
The judge stayed his ruling for 30 days to allow Texas to file an appeal.
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In declaring the ban unconstitutional, Pittman wrote that "incontrovertible historical evidence establishes that 18- to 20-year-olds were understood to be part of the military at the time of its founding."
Lawyers for the Texas attorney general's office had unsuccessfully argued that there was a historical basis for determining who could carry guns based on age.
The age restriction only applied to the carrying of handguns;
long guns can be purchased in Texas once a person turns 18, as was the case with the 18-year-old shooter who used a semi-automatic rifle to attack a school in Uvalde on May 24, killing 19 children and two teachers.
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Last year, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed legislation that no longer requires Texans over the age of 21 to obtain a license, background check or training to carry a firearm.
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Democratic leaders across the country have criticized the Supreme Court's ruling in the case New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v.
Bruen for making gun regulation much more difficult in a country where mass shootings have become commonplace.
The Gun Policy Coalition said it is challenging similar restrictions on young adults carrying guns in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Illinois, Minnesota, California and Georgia.
"This decision is a significant victory for the rights of young adults in Texas and demonstrates to the rest of the nation that similar bans cannot withstand constitutional challenges based on history," said Cody Wisniewski, a senior attorney for the group, in a statement.