For decades now, adults under the age of 21 couldn't buy handguns. It's a stupid law and one motivated by the insane idea that criminals buy guns in gun stores and that by limiting that, you could keep guns out of the hands of young criminals. As we've seen, though, that's not remotely how it works and so the age restriction hasn't really done anything.

Following the Parkland shooting, though, a lot of states decided to restrict certain long guns to those over 21 as well. 

Now, the battle is heating up over this age category as both sides try to push bills aimed at them.

Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, introduced a measure that would raise the minimum age to buy so-called “assault weapons” and misnamed “high-capacity” ammunition magazines from 18 to 21.

“Everyone in America should be able to live free from the fear of injury or death caused by a firearm,” Sen. Kaine said in a press release announcing the action. “One of many common-sense steps we can take to reduce that risk is limiting young people’s access to assault weapons—just like we already limit their access to handguns.”

...

Despite that fact, the bill lowering the age to 18 is being pushed by a who’s who of gun-ban groups, including March for Our Lives, Giffords, Newtown Action Alliance, Everytown for Gun Safety and Brady, formerly called Handgun Control Inc.

It should be noted that most Americans who are killed by someone with a firearm are killed with a handgun. You know, the firearm type already restricted to those over 21. 

Going after so-called assault weapons won't make anyone any safer, as only about four percent of homicides are carried out with a rifle of any sort and many of those are likely carried out by someone over the age of 21.

However, the pro-gun side is also addressing the issue of adults under 21, but this time, from a far more sensible place.

Meanwhile, in the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans are making a push to recognize the infringed-upon rights of 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds. On February 27, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, reintroduced the Second Amendment for Every Registrable (SAFER) Voter Act, which would lower the age from 21 to 18 for purchasing a handgun from a federal firearms licensee (FFL).

Rep. Massie announced the measure, HR 1643, on Facebook, posting, “I just reintroduced the Second Amendment for Every Registrable Voter Act, HR 1643. The SAFER Voter Act would repeal the federal law that prevents voting-age adults, 18 to 20, from purchasing a handgun from a FFL.”

In a press release about the measure, Rep. Massie asked a poignant question: “Why should a 20-year-old single mom be denied the right to defend herself and her children?

It's a valid question.

As I've already noted, the prohibition against adults under 21 buying handguns hasn't kept firearms out of the hands of young criminals. It's only stopped law-abiding young adults from buying handguns. That shouldn't be the case at all. If they're adults, they should get the totality of their rights.

And don't come at me about how they're not allowed to drink. I think that's BS too--if you're old enough to die for your country, you're old enough to get hammered the night before you ship out--so that's not going to fly.

What we're seeing is a battle taking place involving the gun rights of these younger Americans. It shouldn't be a thing, but it is, and this is one we can ill afford to lose.

After all, we've seen how regulations beget regulations. Every restriction is used to justify another restriction, as Tim Kaine illustrated above. So, the easiest way to nip that in the bud is to kill the regulations in the first place.

Massie's proposal does just that. We need that to happen, which won't be easy, but weirder things have happened.

I mean, Trump won in November after losing four years earlier. I sure didn't see that coming.