Unanimous ruling strikes down concealed carry restrictions on law-abiding 18-to-20-year-olds
A Florida appeals court delivered a major victory for the Second Amendment, ruling that law-abiding adults between the ages of 18 and 20 enjoy the same Constitutional right to bear arms as every other adult citizen.
In a unanimous decision, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal struck down the state’s ban on concealed carry for young adults, finding that the restriction violated the Second Amendment and lacked any historical foundation.
Writing for the court, Judge Spencer Levine noted the obvious contradiction at the heart of the law:
“Americans old enough to serve in the military and defend the nation were being denied the ability to fully exercise their right to self-defense at home.”
The case arose after 18-year-old Jaylen Eubanks was prosecuted under Florida’s age-based carry restriction, a law enacted in the aftermath of the 2018 Parkland tragedy.
Applying the Supreme Court’s Bruen framework, the court concluded that adults ages 18 to 20 are unquestionably part of “the people” protected by the Constitution and that Florida failed to identify any historical tradition supporting the ban.
The judges also pointed to America’s founding-era militia laws, which frequently required 18-year-old men to possess and bear arms in defense of their communities and the nation.
In a significant development, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier agreed with the ruling, announced that the state would not pursue further appeals, and pledged to work toward implementing the court’s order.
The decision marks another major win in the growing wave of post-Bruen victories that are forcing courts to evaluate gun laws based on Constitutional text and American history rather than political talking points.
For gun owners and gun rights supporters, the ruling sends a clear message: Constitutional rights do not suddenly appear at age 21, and government officials cannot treat the right to keep and bear arms as a second-class liberty.
As anti-gun restrictions continue to fall under Constitutional scrutiny, this latest victory reinforces a simple principle the Founders understood from the beginning: rights belong to all law-abiding adults, not just the ones politicians approve of.
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