U.S. appeals court erases ruling allowing gun sales to people under 21
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[September 23, 2021]
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on
Wednesday threw out its recent decision that a federal prohibition on
firearms dealers selling guns to young adults under 21 was
unconstitutional, deciding the case was now moot because both plaintiffs
have reached that age.
A panel of the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals had issued the 2-1 ruling on July 13, authored by Circuit Judge
Julius Richardson. But Richardson said it now serves the public interest
to vacate the decision, clearing the way for further litigation on the
matter.
Richardson also said the public and legal community will benefit because
"the exchange of ideas between the panel and dissent will remain
available as a persuasive source."
The federal measures being challenged bar handgun sales to people ages
18 to 20.
In the July decision, the panel's majority said people as young as 18
had a right to own guns under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment
guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms.
It also said young adults could not be relegated to "second-class
status," notwithstanding the "weighty interest in reducing crime and
violence."
One plaintiff turned 21 before the court ruled, and the second turned 21
on July 25 before the court issued a mandate in the case. Both had
sought unsuccessfully to buy firearms in Virginia, when they were
younger.
"These young men and women are disappointed that the system continues to
deny their equal access to fundamental liberties simply because of their
youth" and because the litigation took too long, their lawyer Elliott
Harding said in an email.
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Guns are displayed after a gun buyback event organized by the New
York City Police Department (NYPD), in the Queens borough of New
York City, U.S., June 12, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
President Joe Biden's administration last month had
asked the entire 4th Circuit to reconsider the panel's decision.
That request is now also moot.
Judge James Wynn, who strongly dissented from the original decision,
said on Wednesday the vacated ruling now has "no legal value" and
its persuasive value "can be no more than the value of newspaper
editorials."
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on Nov. 3 in a
separate case testing the constitutionality of a New York law
restricting people's ability to carry guns outside the home.
A decision is expected by the end of next June. The case could
generate the court's first major Second Amendment decision since
2010.
The case is Hirschfeld et al v Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco
& Explosives et al, 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 19-2250.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)
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