Supreme Court May Consider the Age-Old Second Amendment Question
Liberty Nation | November 14, 2025 | James Fite
Get married, have a kid, join the Army, and vote — but don’t you dare buy a gun! How old must one be for the Second Amendment to apply? The legal answer to that question currently depends on where you live, but that could all change soon. The US Supreme Court is set to consider four petitions on Friday, November 14, all concerning the issue of gun rights for young adults.
### The Age of Arms
Out of the Fourth Circuit comes West Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The central issue in this case is whether a federal law that bans licensed sales of handguns and handgun ammunition to anyone under the age of 21 violates the Second Amendment rights of 18- to 20-year-olds who otherwise can own firearms.
The 2022 Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen requires a “plain text” reading of the Second Amendment, interpreted in accordance with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulations. According to the plaintiff’s petition, the majority in the Fourth Circuit didn’t dispute either point.
As explained in the filing, the only eighteenth-century laws directly relating to this age group are the militia laws throughout the nation. These laws required “18- to 20-year-olds” to serve in the militia and “to show up [for militia service] with a musket, firelock, or rifle.” This, the filing claims, provides “strong evidence that the Second Amendment protected 18- to 20-year-olds.”
### Other Related Cases
McCoy v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and Paris v. Second Amendment Foundation both address the same core question. Additionally, National Rifle Association v. Glass challenges Florida’s law requiring a minimum purchase age of 21 for any firearm unless the buyer is in law enforcement.
### What’s Next?
As the Supreme Court considers these petitions, the nation could be on the verge of a landmark decision impacting the gun rights of young adults. If the Court takes up these cases, it will address the question of whether age-based restrictions on firearm purchases are consistent with the Second Amendment and the historical tradition of gun ownership.
*This article first appeared at LibertyNation.com.*
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