The U.S. Department of Justice says a federal prohibition on licensed gun dealers selling handguns to people ages 18 through 20 is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. Multiple outlets report the DOJ issued a legal opinion reaching that conclusion.
CBS News, the Washington Times, and Breitbart describe the DOJ’s assessment that the restriction cannot be sustained under the Constitution, while NDTV frames the view in terms of Second Amendment limits on criminal enforcement against “law-abiding adults” in that age range. All accounts indicate the DOJ is treating the ban as no longer enforceable following the opinion.
The reporting varies mainly in phrasing, such as whether the focus is on the illegality of enforcement generally or specifically on criminal enforcement by licensed dealers. Still, the core points are consistent across sources: the DOJ issued a new legal opinion, it finds the 18–20 handgun sales ban unconstitutional, and it says the government cannot proceed with enforcement based on that law.
