Judge Lawrence VanDyke of the 9th Circuit criticized his colleagues' "basic misunderstanding of how firearms work" after they voted to uphold magazine restrictions. (US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)
A Florida appeals court ruled Wednesday that the state's ban on concealed carry by adults ages 18 to 20 violates the Second Amendment, finding that young adults are entitled to the same constitutional protections as law-abiding adults over the age of 20.
In a sweeping opinion, the court said 18-year-olds can serve in the military and defend the nation but face restrictions on their ability to exercise the same self-defense rights available to older adults.
"Eighteen- to 20-year-olds can defend the country without restriction but can only utilize their Second Amendment right to self-defense with severe restrictions," Judge Spencer D. Levine wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel of Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeals.
"Restricting 18- to 20-year-olds — members of the same 'political community' as other law-abiding adults — from rights to self-defense would make the Second Amendment a 'second-class' right," Levine wrote.
A participant uses a handgun during a training session at a shooting range in Pompano Beach, Florida, on Oct. 25, 2023. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg)
The ruling comes after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier declined to defend the law earlier this year.
"In another win for the unalienable rights of Floridians, the 4th DCA agreed with our position that Florida's law banning adults under 21 from conceal carrying a firearm is unconstitutional," Uthmeier wrote on X.
"We will not seek further review and will work with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to implement the court's order," he wrote.
STAY IN YOUR LANE: FLORIDA AG FIRES NEXT VOLLEY AGAINST JUDGE HALTING
