Three Minnesotans are suing to secure the right to bear arms for young adults ages 18-20.
Presently, Minnesota law stipulates that while basically all non-felon adult citizens can own guns, those under 21 are not allowed to carry them. Kristin Worth, Austin Dye and Axel Anderson, who are all Minnesota adults under the age of 21, believe this infringes on their rights and have taken the matter up with a federal court.
The trio argues that not only is it unconstitutional for the state to prohibit them from obtaining a permit to carry, but this prohibition unfairly targets young women. Young women as a group “commit violent offenses at an exceptionally low rate,” yet are frequent targets of crime, argues the lawsuit.
Worth, Dye and Anderson are not fighting this battle alone. Rather, they’ve enlisted the help of the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), the Second Amendment Foundation and the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus.
It is significant that the FPC has chosen to assist with the case. This high-profile Second Amendment advocacy group recently succeeded in overturning California’s ban on so-called “assault weapons.” After hearing the FPC’s argument against the prohibition of these modern rifles, a judge determined that the ban was a “failed experiment,” and tossed it out.
Now, the group is calling Minnesota’s policy of not issuing concealed carry permits to young adults an “unconstitutional total ban on the exercise of the fundamental human right to bear arms for a broad class of legal, law-abiding adults who can vote, serve on a jury, hold public office, marry, and serve in the armed forces.”
This Minnesota case comes alongside another case that the U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear about — a similar but far more broad topic. The issue, brought by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, began over a self-contradictory law regarding the transport of firearms in New York. However, after rising to America’s highest court, the suit now challenges the constitutionality of concealed carry permits.
Should the association be correct in its assertions, the Supreme Court may rule that the requirement that citizens obtain carry permits before bearing arms in public is unconstitutional, slashing restrictions on carrying guns nationwide.
Some pundits have suggested that the Supreme Court has long avoided hearing a case like this one, given the fact that a decision in favor of the Second Amendment will have broad impacts on current gun laws.
Kyle Hooten
Kyle Hooten is Managing Editor of Alpha News. His coverage of Minneapolis has been featured on television shows like Tucker Carlson Tonight and in print media outlets like the Wall Street Journal.
