DOJ Rules Federal Ban on Handgun Sales to Under-21s Unconstitutional

The Justice Department has declared federal law prohibiting licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to individuals under 21 unconstitutional, stating it cannot be enforced. The opinion from the department's Office of Legal Counsel asserts that the law infringes upon Second Amendment rights, according to a legal opinion released Friday.

This stance indicates the Trump administration will cease defending or prosecuting cases related to this federal ban. The decision follows a landmark Supreme Court ruling that altered the legal framework for firearm regulations. The existing federal law permits 18- to 20-year-olds to purchase long guns from licensed dealers and handguns from private sellers, but requires individuals to be 21 to buy handguns from licensed dealers.

Assistant Attorney General Elliot Gaiser, head of the Office of Legal Counsel, stated in a release, “Eighteen-year-olds may vote, serve on juries, be drafted, and face adult criminal penalties, including capital punishment. The Constitution protects the people’s right to keep and bear arms. The Department of Justice may not constitutionally seek to impose criminal penalties on dealers who sell handguns to law-abiding adults who, in nearly every other relevant respect, are members of the political community.”

Federal appeals courts have previously issued conflicting rulings on the constitutionality of handgun age restrictions. The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on this specific federal law following its 2022 decision that modified the legal standard for evaluating challenges to gun control measures.

This development marks another success for gun rights organizations under the Trump administration, which has previously eased some firearms regulations and established a process for individuals with certain criminal convictions to seek the reinstatement of their gun rights.

Conversely, gun control advocacy groups have condemned the Justice Department's opinion. Eric Tirschwell, executive director of Everytown Law, argued, “Federal prosecutors nationwide will stop holding illegal sellers of handguns to 18- to 20-year-olds accountable if they know the DOJ has pulled the rug out from under them. Abandoning protections that target the highest-risk age group for handgun violence isn’t just an unconscionable surrender of public safety — it is a dangerous dereliction of duty.”