AP By DENISE LAVOIE 9/22/2021
A federal appeals court on Wednesday threw out a ruling that found a law banning licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to young adults under 21 is unconstitutional.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ruled that the case is now moot because the woman who sued to challenge the constitutionality of the federal law has now turned 21 and is of age to legally purchase a handgun from a dealer.
The same panel of judges had ruled 2-1 in July that the 1968 federal law banning people ages 18 to 20 from purchasing a handgun from a licensed dealer was unconstitutional. It found that the law violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms, which the panel called a “cherished constitutional right” that vests at age 18. But in a unanimous ruling Wednesday, the judges said that because plaintiff Natalia Marshall is now 21, she no longer has a legally recognized interest in the outcome of the case.
“Once she turned 21, nothing prohibited her from buying the handgun she desired from a dealer of her choice. So her original claims are now moot,” Judge Julius Richardson wrote for the panel.
More:
https://apnews.com/article/courts-richmond-gun-politics-cf8cd1dd33c68f8e073834f04c22a432
