In an undeniable victory for the Second Amendment, Judge Thomas Kleeh, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, ruled last Friday that the Biden administration’s attempt to ban adults between the ages of 18 and 20 from buying handguns was unconstitutional. Adam Kraut, executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation, praised the decision by stating, “This is a huge victory for Second Amendment rights, especially for young adults.”
The ruling served as a strong push back against the Biden Administration’s efforts to limit the rights and access of law-abiding Americans to firearms.
As Judge Kleeh concluded, the government’s prohibition on Brown and Weekley’s handgun purchases “facially unconstitutional and as applied to Plaintiffs.” His ruling was based on precedent set forth by the Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen in 2022, which required all gun control measures to have a root in historical firearm regulation.
Kleeh understood that the deprivation of a constitutional right is an injury in fact, no matter if a “lawful work-around” exists, criticizing the federal government’s position that if a plantiff’s parent or guardian purchases the gun for them, it would qualify as a “work-around”. The judge rightfully rejected this, pointing out that only laws consistent with the historical tradition of firearm regulation would pass constitutional muster.
Upon reviewing the case, Kleeh concluded that the Biden Administration failed to present any evidence “of age-based restrictions on the purchase or sale of firearms from before or at the Founding or during the Early Republic.” Furthermore, Kleeh ruled that individuals in this age bracket have the right to have guns until the government can prove differently, which it failed to do. Alan M. Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, stated that “there was never any historical evidence supporting this arbitrary ban on the purchase and ownership of handguns by young adults,” and offered that even at the Founding and during the Early Republic, young adults where considered mature enough to serve in the militia.
JUDGE UPHOLDS 2ND AMENDMENT FOR 18-20YR OLDS
Breitbart: “Judge Kleeh issued a decision striking down the federal prohibition against 18 to 20yr olds purchasing handguns- Kleeh, a Trump appointee, is Chief Judge of the US District Court N District W VA.”
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This decision serves as an example of the weight of constitutional freedoms in this nation. Though the Biden administration fought diligently to expand gun control measures using a questionable basis that was ultimately rejected, Judge Kleeh’s ruling brings us back to the principle of constitutional rights: that the government has the burden to prove that a challenged measure is consistent with our nation’s historic tradition of firearm regulation.
This is a much needed check on the government’s power and serves as a reminder that our freedom to own and manipulate firearms is an integral right that must remain inviolable.