Federal judge approves Colorado law banning people under 21 from buying a gun

A federal judge upheld Colorado’s restriction on firearms sales requiring buyers to be 21 or older after Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and two people looking to purchase firearms sued Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo. 

Chief U.S. District Judge Philip A. Brimmer agreed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit’s decision that age-based requirements for purchase do not fall under the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms. The 10th Circuit and Brimmer agree that the issue falls under a “safe harbor” exclusion, placing it outside the scope of the Constitution.

The only exceptions to Colorado’s firearm purchase age restriction are for those in the U.S. Military and for peace officers. In both cases, the person must be making the purchase while on duty and is “serving in conformance with the policies” of their respective agency.

The decision in Colorado comes in contrast to one issued by the Supreme Court in 2022 in which justices determined that New York issued unconstitutional requirements for carrying a concealed weapon in public. Then-President Joe Biden said he was “deeply disappointed” by the ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. He said that SCOTUS had “chosen to strike down New York’s long-established authority to protect its citizens.”

“This ruling contradicts both common sense and the Constitution, and should deeply trouble us all,” Biden said in a statement at the time. He went on to reaffirm his commitment to reducing gun violence and making communities safer.

Brimmer is also going against a decision made by the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, which struck down a federal restriction banning the sale of firearms to anyone below the age of 21. That court held that those ages 18 to 20 are protected under the Second Amendment, according to The Trace, an organization of journalists who report on gun violence in the U.S.

“The federal government has presented scant evidence that eighteen-to-twenty-year-olds’ firearm rights during the founding-era were restricted in a similar manner to the contemporary federal handgun purchase ban,” Judge Edith H. Jones wrote in the opinion.

Several states, including New York, Massachusetts, California, Florida, Illinois, Delaware and Vermont have raised the age for purchasing firearms, according to the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. While some states have limited the age restrictions to handgun purchases, others have applied the restriction to any kind of firearm.