Attorney General Bonta Supports Pennsylvania's Commonsense Age-Based Gun Law

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta, as part of a coalition of 18 attorneys general, filed a brief in support of Pennsylvania’s petition for rehearing en banc in a challenge to its laws setting the minimum age at 21 for securing a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public and during states of emergency. The case, Lara v. Commissioner, is currently pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The coalition’s brief argues that a three-judge panel of the Third Circuit erred in its decision to strike down the laws as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment and that the panel’s reasoning could undermine efforts by states to protect their citizens through the application of similar age-limitation laws. In fact, most states across the nation impose some age-based restrictions on the possession, purchase, or use of firearms reflecting their collective judgment that such laws promote public safety and curb gun violence within their borders.

“States must have the ability to protect their citizens and communities from gun violence,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The Third Circuit’s decision to overturn Pennsylvania’s law is inconsistent with our nation’s historical tradition as well as longstanding state and federal laws imposing age-based restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.  We stand with Pennsylvania and other states in their effort to curb gun violence through these kinds of commonsense laws that improve public safety.”

In the brief, the states assert that Pennsylvania’s law is constitutional under the Second Amendment and is consistent with states’ authority and a historical tradition of state regulations promoting gun safety and protecting communities from gun violence. The coalition argues that the panel’s decision to strike down Pennsylvania’s law misreads the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, which preserves states’ authority to regulate firearms through laws that are “consistent with the Second Amendment’s text and historical understanding.”

Attorney General Bonta urges the Court of Appeals sitting en banc to overturn the panel’s decision because:

• The Second Amendment allows states to enact varied measures to promote gun safety and protect against gun violence consistent with historical tradition, and states have long exercised this power by enacting laws to promote safety, prevent crime, and minimize gun violence within their borders.
• Pennsylvania’s age-based restrictions are consistent with measures taken by other states and fall comfortably within states’ authority to regulate firearms. Most states and the District of Columbia impose age-based restrictions regarding the use, purchase, or possession of firearms, and a majority of states have determined that those under the age of 21 should be more restricted in their ability to carry firearms in public. Courts have previously upheld these restrictions relying on the historical record as is now required by Bruen.·     

The panel’s categorical rejection of relevant historical evidence from the time period when the Fourteenth Amendment incorporated the Second Amendment against the states is inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent and fundamental principles of constitutional adjudication.

A copy of the brief can be found here.