Official court filings or announcements from the Minnesota Attorney General's office

Eighth Circuit Rules Minnesota's Handgun Carry Ban for Under-21 Unconstitutional in 3-0 Decision

Jul 16, 2024, 07:26 PM

A federal appeals court has ruled that Minnesota's law requiring individuals to be at least 21 years old to carry a handgun in public is unconstitutional. The decision was made by the St. Louis-based Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which found in a 3-0 ruling that the state's ban violated the Second Amendment rights of 18- to 20-year-olds. The ruling aligns with a similar decision by the Third Circuit, reinforcing that adults under 21 cannot be denied the same Second Amendment rights as those 21 and older. The case was brought forward by the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus along with national partners and individual plaintiffs. This is the first federal appellate merits decision post-Rahimi.