Unlike many people debating many issues today, I actually understand both sides of the argument over whether Americans aged 18-20 should be legally able to buy guns.
On the one side are the anti-2A people (okay, while I understand their stated reasons for their position, their arguments are wrong).
Also on this side are people who are concerned about the maturity levels of people in that age range. After all, plenty of people in that age range make a lot of terrible choices. A sense of responsibility and of the consequences of their choices too often play too little of a factor in their decision making processes at that age, and some people are concerned about people dealing with those difficulties having access to firearms.
As a parent with two of my children in that age range, I understand their concerns.
On the flip side of the issue, though, are those who are Second Amendment absolutists, and those who question why we let 18-20 year olds drive cars without supervision (and auto accidents kill more people than firearms every year), vote (which can affect all of us), and join the military… where they will have access to and shoot firearms if they can’t legally own guns in their personal lives. It just seems silly to say that they can do all kinds of dangerous things including shooting guns in the military but to also say that they can’t have them personally.
(My position is that if you teach young people to understand that actions have consequences so they should think before acting and if you also teach them both safe handling of firearms and to respect firearms, then, you’re very unlikely to have a problem with that young adult making a bad choice with a gun.)
President Trump’s Department of Justice apparently agrees with more with this second group of people if a recent legal opinion on their part is any indication. Alanna Durkin Richer with the Associated Press writes,
Federal law banning licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to young adults under age 21 is unconstitutional and can’t be enforced, the Justice Department said in a legal opinion released Friday.
The opinion from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel says the law aimed at making it harder for 18- to 20-year-olds to get handguns violates the Second Amendment. The opinion indicates the Trump administration will not defend or prosecute cases under the law that has been the subject of competing court rulings in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court decision that transformed the legal landscape around firearms.
I have to say that I think that the DOJ got this one right.
What do you think? Tell us in the comments.