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The US Justice Department is considering appealing a federal court ruling that would allow people under 21 to purchase and possess a handgun, the first such ruling by a high-level court that extends the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms to younger adults.
The 2-1 decision on Tuesday by the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals said a law that prevented licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to people under 21 is unconstitutional and restricts the rights of law-abiding citizens.
Circuit Judge Julius Richardson, who was appointed by Republican former president Donald Trump, wrote: "Despite the weighty interest in reducing crime and violence, we refuse to relegate either the Second Amendment or 18-to-20-year-olds to a second-class status."
A Justice Department spokesperson told The Washington Post: "We respectfully disagree with the court's decision and are considering our options."
The decision by the panel is likely to be appealed to the full 4th Circuit. The court sent the case back to a federal District Court for further proceedings.
The ruling sparked concern among anti-gun violence groups.
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence is led by former Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in 2011 by a gunman who killed six people and injured 12 in Casas Adobes, Arizona. The organization wrote on its website:
"Laws imposing minimum age requirements for the possession and purchase of firearms are intended to decrease access to firearms by young people and, correspondingly, to decrease the number of suicides, homicides, and unintentional shootings among that population.
"Given that young people are at elevated risk of engaging in violent behaviors against themselves or others, these laws have the potential to protect a particularly vulnerable group."
The National Rifle Association (NRA), a gun rights group, threw its support behind the court's decision.
Amy Hunter, the NRA's director of media relations, said in a statement: "The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recognized today that millions of young adults must be allowed to exercise their fundamental constitutional right."
In the ruling, Richardson said 18- to 20-year-olds are responsible for only a tiny percentage of gun violence, saying Congress lacked a compelling enough reason to infringe on their Second Amendment rights.
He also noted most other constitutional rights aren't age-limited and that militia laws enforced at the time the Constitution was ratified uniformly required those 18 and older to join and bring their own arms.
He was joined by Judge G. Steven Agee, appointed by Republican former president George W. Bush.
The judges said that they didn't believe that it was necessary for age restrictions to be placed upon people who buy guns. They also argued that young people may obtain a gun illegally, without a background check if they couldn't buy one legally.
In his dissent, Circuit Judge James Wynn Jr, an appointee of Democratic former president Barack Obama, accused his colleagues of breaking "new ground by invalidating a modest and long-established effort to control gun violence".
He said that the decision by lawmakers in 1968 to add an age restriction on purchasing guns should remain for public safety.
"The majority's decision to grant the gun lobby a victory in a fight it lost on Capitol Hill more than 50 years ago is not compelled by law. Nor is it consistent with the proper role of the federal judiciary in our democratic system," Wynn wrote.
The plaintiffs were two young adults under 21 from Albemarle County, Virginia. Since bringing their suit, one of them, Tanner Hirschfeld, has turned 21. The other, Natalia Marshall, a University of Virginia student, is still under the minimum age to purchase a handgun. She said she wanted the gun for protection from an abusive ex-boyfriend.
The two sued the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, arguing that federal statutes that prohibit federally licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns and handgun ammunition to 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds violate the Second Amendment.
Elliott Harding, the attorney representing Marshall and Hirschfeld, applauded the court for "recognizing that these young adults are not second-class citizens".
He added that the ruling would ensure that young people who purchase handguns will undergo background checks.