Justice Department Calls Federal Handgun Ban for Under-21s Unconstitutional

The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel has concluded that a federal law barring licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to adults under 21 is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced, according to a legal opinion released on Friday.

The opinion states that the restriction, which targets 18- to 20-year-olds, violates the Second Amendment. It signals that the Trump administration will not defend or prosecute cases brought under the law, which has been the subject of conflicting rulings in lower courts since a landmark Supreme Court decision reshaped the legal framework for firearm regulations.

"Eighteen-year-olds may vote, serve on juries, be drafted, and face adult criminal penalties, including capital punishment," Assistant Attorney General Elliot Gaiser, who heads the Office of Legal Counsel, said in a statement. "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."

Under current federal law, individuals must be 21 to buy a handgun from a licensed dealer, though 18- to 20-year-olds may purchase handguns from private sellers. The minimum age for long gun purchases from licensed dealers is 18.

Federal appeals courts have split on whether age-based handgun restrictions are constitutional, and the Supreme Court has not yet addressed the federal law in the wake of its 2022 decision that altered the test for evaluating firearm restrictions.

The opinion marks another win for gun rights advocates under the second Trump administration, which has rolled back certain firearms regulations and established a new process for individuals barred from owning guns due to criminal convictions to seek restoration of their rights.

Gun control organizations criticized the move. "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," Eric Tirschwell, executive director of Everytown Law, said in an emailed statement. "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."