Utah joins challenge to federal age discrimination in handgun sales

It looks like a federalism battle is shaping up., Is the U.S. Supreme Court is going to decide another Second Amendment case for the good guys?

Utah has joined 22 states in a court brief supporting the National Rifle Association’s challenge to a law banning federally licensed dealers from selling handguns to people under age 21.

The NRA seeks to end the federal prohibition of young adults to buy handguns from federally licensed dealers. The case is before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Utah Attorney General John Swallow said he signed on to the brief because there is a collision between federal and state law on the issue. The Supreme Court needs to decide whether it is a right under the Second Amendment for that age group buy a handgun, he said.

“It’s really a federalism issue. We feel like we should be able to enforce state policy where it comes to the safety of our citizens,” Swallow said.

Under state law, an 18- to 20-year-old can buy a handgun in a private transaction.

Swallow said he also believes the state law is “right, and the federal law is too restrictive and violates the Constitution.”

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It’s absurd that 18 – 20-year-olds can legally buy and possess handguns in private sales, but can’t buy them from licensed FFL dealers. Either the federal ban needs to be struck down, or all state laws must comply with the federal standard.

Here’s hoping that SCOTUS will overturn the lower courts, citing the “Jeantel rule.”

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Hey, one can dream.

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