A 2-1 ruling by a Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel Monday has given young adults in Pennsylvania a victory in a challenge of the state’s prohibition on open carry of firearms by people in the 18-20-year age group during a declared state of emergency.
It was a case brought by the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition and three private citizens. The case is known as Madison Lara v. Commissioner Pennsylvania State Police.
The court has remanded the case back to the District Court with instructions to enter an injunction forbidding the state police from arresting law-abiding 18-20-year-olds for openly carrying firearms during a declared state of emergency. Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Peter Patterson, Haley N. Proctor, David H. Thompson and John D. Ohlendorf at Cooper & Kirk in Washington, D.C. and Joshua Prince at Civil Rights Defense Firm, in Bechtelsville, Pa.
According to a SAF announcement, this is the second time the Third Circuit has ruled in SAF’s favor on this case. After the initial ruling, the state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court which, in turn, remanded the case back to the Third Circuit to reconsider in light of the high court’s 2024 ruling in Rahimi. The Third Circuit determined that Rahimi changed nothing about their analysis and once again ruled for the plaintiffs. The circuit court then ordered the District Court to enter an injunction in favor of the plaintiffs.
Writing for the majority, Circuit Judge Kent A. Jordan, a George W. Bush appointee, noted, “It is undisputed that 18-to-20-year-olds are among ‘the people’ for other constitutional rights such as the right to vote, freedom of speech, the freedom to peaceably assemble and to petition the and the right against unreasonable searches and seizures. We therefore reiterate our holding that 18-to-20-yearolds are, like other subsets of the American public, presumptively among ‘the people’ to whom Second Amendment rights extend.”
Judge Jordan was joined by Judge D. Brooks Smith, another Bush appointee. Judge L. Felipe Restrepo, a Barack Obama appointee, dissented.
“SAF has maintained all along that 18-20 year olds are unquestionably part of ‘the people’ contemplated by the Second Amendment who have the same rights to keep and bear that any other adult has,” said SAF Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. “The Third Circuit already agreed with us once, and today it reaffirmed its decision, finding that the Rahimi decision from the Supreme Court changes precisely nothing.”
“There is no language in the Second Amendment that applies only to some age-exclusive subset of the people,” SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb observed. “We’re delighted the Third Circuit once again has ruled in our favor, and we will continue defending that position.”
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