The Supreme Court sidestepped a brewing gun-safety issue for now, telling a federal appeals court to reconsider a ruling that 18-to-20-year-olds have a broad constitutional right to carry a firearm. In an order Tuesday, the justices opted not to take up an appeal by Pennsylvania officials, instead ordering a fresh look at the issue at the lower court, reports Bloomberg News. The reconsideration order cited the high court’s ruling in June upholding a federal gun ban for people under domestic-violence orders. Pennsylvania is one of 32 states, along with the federal government, that establish 21 as the minimum age for some gun rights. The high court appeal involved a Pennsylvania law that prohibits people age 18-to-20 from openly carrying firearms during a declared state of emergency.
The Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the law, saying in a 2-1 decision the state hadn’t shown a historic pedigree required under an earlier Supreme Court ruling. The law is being challenged by two gun-rights groups and three people who were under age 21 when the suit was filed in 2020. They urged the high court to reject Pennsylvania’s appeal without ordering reconsideration, saying lower courts are generally in agreement that states can’t put special restrictions on 18-to-20-year-olds.Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry argued that the 3rd Circuit imposed a much stricter historical test for gun laws than the Supreme Court said in the domestic-violence case was required. Lower courts are dealing with bans on so-called assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, laws prohibiting gun possession by convicted felons and restrictions on where firearms can be brought.
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