Kids Can Buy Guns, Now?

A federal judge in Virginia has ruled that a law banning licensed federal firearms dealers from selling handguns to young adults under 21 violates the Second Amendment and is unconstitutional.

The ruling Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Payne in Richmond, if not overturned, would allow dealers to sell handguns to 18- to 20-year-olds.

In his 71-page ruling, Payne wrote that many of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship are granted at the age of 18, including the right to vote, enlist in the military without parental permission and serve on a federal jury.

The minimum age of 21 to buy a handgun was one of the compromises in the 1968 Gun Control Act. What those pushing the bill wanted to do was outright ban the sale of handguns. Before then, the rule in most states was "old enough to pay for it, old enough to buy it." Boys, in particular, mowed lawns and shovelled snow to earn money to buy a .22 rifle or a .410 shotgun. They'd go to the local hardware store, to Sears (or Monkey Wards) or mail a money order to Herters. It was between the kid and the parents.

The argument of Bloomberg's group about research into homicide rates may be true, but it is also irrelevant. The Supremes have pretty much elevated 2A rights to the strict scrutiny test, which means that unless there is a compelling argument as to why a restriction is necessary, the restriction fails.

The focus of the Supremes on what restrictions were present when firearms were used to shoot game, British soldiers and random Indians is just weird. I expect that the requirements to have serial numbers and prohibitions against felons possessing guns will eventually fall, unless they can twist themselves into pretzels to justify the rules.

And before you argue in the comments that the colonial argument would only permit muzzleloading flintlocks, go read this.