Today, the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, and an individual, Daniel Maines, filed a lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania’s carry restrictions for adults under 21.
Pennsylvania generally requires a license to carry a firearm concealed or in a vehicle. A license is also required to carry a firearm in any manner in Philadelphia and to be exempt from the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act’s ban on carrying within 1,000 feet of school grounds. Adults under 21, however, are categorically ineligible to apply for or obtain a license under 18 Pa.C.S. § 6109(b).
In NYSRPA v. Bruen, the Supreme Court confirmed that the Second Amendment protects the right of all Americans to carry firearms in public for self-defense. And the Third Circuit held in Lara v. Commissioner Pennsylvania State Police that 18-to-20-year-olds are among “the people” protected by the Second Amendment and that another Pennsylvania age-based restriction on their right to carry was inconsistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Pennsylvania’s licensing scheme likewise violates the Second Amendment by denying law-abiding 18-to-20-year-old adults their general right to public carry.
The case, named Maines v. Bethel, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org for future updates on NRA-ILA’s ongoing efforts to defend your constitutional rights, and please visit www.nraila.org/litigation to keep up to date on NRA-ILA’s ongoing litigation efforts.
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