A San Diego federal court judge ruled this week in favor of a state law prohibiting the sale of semi-automatic rifles and other long guns to 18-to-20-year-olds, with exceptions, by licensed dealers.
In a summary judgment issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge M. James Lorenz ruled that the law does not violate the Second Amendment and that the restriction “fits within the historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
The judgment is the result of a lawsuit filed in 2019 against the state by firearms dealers, advocates and young adults alleging that the law, California Penal Code Section 27510, infringed on the right to bear arms.
In 2018, following the mass school shooting in Parkland, Fla., by a 19-year-old man, California law was amended to restrict the sale of long guns to anyone under 21, with some exceptions.
The law was amended again in 2019 to further restrict the sale of semiautomatic rifles to people under 21, also with some exceptions.
In December 2023, Lorenz dismissed a motion by the gun-rights plaintiffs requesting a preliminary injunction.
In his judgment this week, Lorenz said, the state law “does not prohibit 18-to-20-year-olds from owning, possessing, or carrying firearms, and does not create a ban on acquisition.”
The young adults may receive a firearm as a gift or bequest, Lorenz noted, and through other exceptions carved out in the law.
For instance, a person age 18 to 20 may purchase a long gun if they possess a valid hunting license, Lorenz said. And semiautomatic rifles may be purchased if the young adult is an active law enforcement officer or member of the military.
Lorenz noted that hundreds of firearms are obtained by people under 21 through the exceptions per year.
Lorenz also ruled that the state’s restrictions were in line with the “historical tradition of firearm regulation” — a standard under which courts must evaluate the constitutionality of gun laws following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Firearm purchases by those under 21 were routinely restricted from the late 1700s into the 1800s, Lorenz noted.
In the Founding Era — the mid- to late 1700s — “common law curtailed the rights of individuals under 21, including their ability to commercially acquire firearms, due to their immaturity and undeveloped judgment,” Lorenz noted.
“The same purpose animated the amendments to Section 27510,” Lorenz wrote.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta applauded the ruling.
“This commonsense regulation will continue to protect our young and vulnerable communities from preventable gun violence,” Bonta said Thursday in a statement. “I am proud of the countless hours my team has put in to defend this law and we know the fight is not over.”
The Firearms Policy Coalition, an advocacy group and one of the plaintiffs, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ruling is likely to be appealed.
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