DOJ says ban on selling handguns to young adults under 21 is unconstitutional

Updated on: September 18, 2026 / 4:06 PM EDT / CBS News

The Justice Department on Friday released a new legal opinion that concludes a federal gun law prohibiting firearms dealers from selling handguns or handgun ammunition to young adults between the ages of 18 and 20 is unconstitutional by violating their Second Amendment rights.

The opinion was issued one day after CBS News reported that the Justice Department will also not appeal a court decision that largely deregulates silencers, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and other bespoke guns under the National Firearms Act. The ban on selling handguns to adults under the age of 21 stemmed from a separate law.

"Our laws deem an eighteen-year-old 'mature enough to be drafted, vote, serve as a juror, and be sentenced to death.' One such eighteen-year-old represented the United States at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, shooting skeet," wrote T. Elliot Gaiser, the assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel. "Yet, due to statutes predicated on concerns over an eighteen-year-old's ability to handle a pistol as a responsible adult, it would have been a federal felony if a licensed dealer had sold her such a firearm before she left or after…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/moneywatch/