Minnesota’s gun carrying age restriction ruled on by federal court

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota’s state law shouldn’t bar 18 to 20 year olds from carrying handguns legally, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.

The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dealt the 27-page decision that contrasts the statute that requires applicants to be at least 21 years old, along with other criteria.

The lawsuit was first filed in 2021 by the Second Amendment Foundation, the Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc., and the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, challenging Minnesota’s age restriction for fun ownership, saying it violated the Second and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

However, on Tuesday, Judge Duane Benton concluded that Minnesota had failed to "proffer sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption that 18 to 20-year-olds seeking to carry handguns in public for self-defense are protected by the right to keep and bear arms."

Barring an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the ruling agrees with last year's decision from U.S. District Court that referred to governments seeking to limit gun rights must show that their laws are "consistent with this nation's historical tradition of firearms regulations."

Since its filing, the lawsuit has caught national attention from several gun advocacy groups, both for and against widening their availability for Americans.

"This is a resounding victory for 18- to 20-year-old adults who wish to exercise their constitutional right to bear arms," Bryan Strawser, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus Chair said in a statement.

"We strongly disagree with today’s Eighth Circuit decision," Janet Carter, senior director of issues and appeals at Everytown Law told FOX 9. "Public-carry age restrictions are constitutional under any reasonable reading of the Second Amendment."

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison could still appeal the decision, sending it to the U.S. Supreme Court.