On Thursday, a federal court in Texas overturned the state's restriction on people between the ages of 18 and 20 carrying handguns, in what looks to be the first major judicial decision since the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark verdict on gun rights in June.
In 2021, the Firearms Policy Coalition, a gun-owners' rights organization, challenged the Texas law that prohibits young adults who are not in active military service from possessing pistols in public.
The group claimed that the restriction violated the Second Amendment of the US Constitution.
According to constitution, states may form militias and that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
In June, The Supreme Court found for the first time that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to carry a firearm for self-defense in public.
The judgment also instructed the federal judiciary to employ a "history-only" approach when evaluating challenges to firearms laws.
He said that a regulation was only valid if it resembled those in place in the 18th century when the Second Amendment was ratified.
Judge Mark Pittman of the U.S. District Court in Fort Worth declared that there was no historical precedent prohibiting young people from carrying firearms in public, citing the recent Supreme Court decision numerous times.
The court stayed his verdict for 30 days so that Texas may file an appeal.
In determining that the prohibition was unconstitutional, Pittman noted that "the indisputable historical evidence demonstrates that 18- to 20-year-olds were regarded as militia members during the Founding Era."
Attorneys from the Texas attorney general's office had unsuccessfully contended that there was a historical foundation for age-based restrictions on gun ownership.
The age restriction only applied to the carrying of handguns; long firearms can be purchased at the age of 18 in Texas, as was the case with the 18-year-old shooter who used a semiautomatic rifle to kill 19 children and two teachers at a school in Uvalde, Texas, in May.
Abbott passed a measure in 2017 that lifted the requirement for Texans over the age of 21 to obtain a license, complete a background check, or receive training in order to carry a firearm.
As the number of mass shootings in the United States continues to rise, democratic politicians across the country have criticized a recent Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association vs. Bruen for making it much more difficult to control firearms.
