California's ban on adults under 21 buying semiauto firearms struck down by the 9th Circuit Court.

 

A man purchases a handgun in California. NPR/AP.

California's ban on adults under the age of 21 buying semi automatic firearms has been struck down by the 9th Circuit Court. AP. The law said that 18-21 year olds were not able to purchase centerfire rifles unless they were a member of the military or law enforcement. In a 2-1 ruling the court said that the ban violated the 2nd Amendment. Handgun sales will not be affected by the ruling. The ruling was not a total victory as the court said a requirement for a hunting license in order to own a rifle or shot gun for 18-21 aged adults was not a violation. 

My Comment:

Though this is still a victory for gun rights, the ruling is nonsensical. The idea that you would need a hunting license to purchase a firearm is ridiculous and even more so if it's only for people that are between 18 and 21 years old. Hunting has nothing to do with the 2nd amendment and there is no reason for these people to be discriminated against. 

For example, if you are in that age group and you want to purchase a firearm for self defense or target shooting, you have to go through all kinds of hoops to get your gun. A hunting license costs around $50 and you also have to take a safety class before you can even get it. Some of the hunter safety stuff might be relevant and even good to teach, but it's insane that it would be a requirement to own a firearm. 

With that being said, it is a good thing that the age ban was in place. I have never supported the idea that an adult can join the military and be assigned a rifle but can't purchase their own firearm. I think the logic applies to handgun bans for 18-21 year olds but for rifles it's even more silly. If an 18 year old can carry a gun for his country why can't he in any other situation? If he's old enough to die for his country he's certainly old enough to buy a gun. 

In addition to the violation of gun rights, I think it's a pretty obvious case of age discrimination. Almost all other rights are given to children once they turn 18, but for some reason owning a firearm is not one of them? If an 18 year old isn't mature enough to carry a gun (or drink a beer for that matter) what business does he have voting? Or driving car or having children or any of the other things you can do as an adult? 

What is frustrating about this is it's insane that the issue of gun rights even comes up anymore. After 2020, with the Coronavirus pandemic and the riots, the issue of gun control died fairly spectacularly. Gun and ammo sales went through the roof and only recently have leveled off. The idea that the government should restrict gun rights no longer holds water when it has been proven what happens when the government can't or won't deal with a crisis. 

Will this ruling survive further appeals? I have no idea. I have learned awhile ago that predicting what the courts are going to do is hard to do. Many courts have simply ignored Supreme Court rulings guaranteeing gun rights and even SOCTUS has not been all that proactive in defending gun rights. It's very possible that this ruling could be overturned on appeal, even though that would make no legal sense whatsoever.