A unanimous three-judge panel of Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals rules that the state’s ban on issuing concealed-carry permits to adults ages 18 to 20 violates the Second Amendment. The decision, issued Wednesday, strikes down the restriction that had prohibited that age group from carrying concealed weapons under Florida law.
Multiple reports say the case’s posture reflects that Florida’s state attorney general did not defend the law. The New York Times and Courthouse News report that Attorney General James Uthmeier declined to defend the nearly 40-year-old ban, and the panel agreed with the constitutional challenge. Fox News similarly describes the ruling as unanimous and grounded in Second Amendment protections.
The Daily Signal and other outlets characterize the panel’s view of the discrepancy between legal ability of 18- to 20-year-olds to act in other contexts and the limits placed on their gun rights through concealed-carry permit restrictions. The reporting also notes that authorities have arrested at least one individual in connection with concealed-carry issues involving that age group.
