Inevitable Appeal

The inevitable appeal may be a blessing in disguise because this case could wind up before the Supreme Court, where there are at least a couple of associate justices waiting for a chance to restore Second Amendment rights.

In his dissent, Judge Wynn tried to put forth the argument that there have been “longstanding” prohibitions on allowing persons under age 21 to purchase or use particular firearms. To bolster this position, Judge Wynn quotes a ruling from the Fifth Circuit, “by the end of the 19th century, nineteen States and the District of Columbia had enacted laws expressly restricting the ability of persons under 21 to purchase or use particular firearms, or restricting the ability of ‘minors’ to purchase or use particular firearms while the state age of majority was set at age 21.” Furthermore, by 1923, “twenty-two States and the District of Columbia had made 21 the minimum age for the purchase or use of particular firearms.”

At those times in history, this amounted to less than half of the country. By 1900, when 19 states and the District had adopted the 21-year restriction, there were 45 states. By 1923, when the number of restricted states had grown to 22, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona had all achieved statehood, giving the U.S. 48 states.

Let’s do some comparison. If less than half the nation can dictate national gun policy, the “Constitutional Carry” standard would be the law of the land, since 21 states now allow it. What’s good for the goose, as the saying goes.