Is it unconstitutional to ban guns for people under 21? Massachusetts high court hears 2nd Amendment case.
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts tackled another Second Amendment issue on Monday. At issue, whether a state ban on handgun licenses for people under 21 years old is unconstitutional.
The case, Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Mikai Thomson, concerns a 20-year-old who was convicted of illegal possession of a firearm. According to his defense, the state law that prohibits anyone under 21 from having a gun license should be struck down.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Mikai Thomson
Thomson was in a car that was pulled over by a Massachusetts State Police trooper on Blue Hill Avenue in December of 2021. Police say he shoved the trooper and ran away, dropping a semi-automatic gun in the process.
The jury that convicted Thomson was told by a judge that under Massachusetts law, a person under 21 years of age is ineligible for a license to carry a firearm.
"His age does not exclude him from Second Amendment protections," a defense filing states, arguing that 18-year-olds are included in other Constitutional rights like voting and freedom of speech and assembly.
Justice Elizabeth Dewar wondered if any age-based restrictions on firearms would be considered constitutional under the defense's arguments.
"One would be hard-pressed to defend giving 2-year-olds firearms," she said.
Defense attorney Elizabeth Lazar said the state hasn't proved that it's OK to deny an adult their Second Amendment rights because they are under 21.
"They haven't shown anything where there is an age-based prohibition that strips away the rights of adults or anyone over the age of 18 just by virtue of their age," Lazar said.
Suffolk County prosecutor Ian MacLean argued that Thomson lacked standing to bring the Second Amendment challenge because he never applied for a firearm license and the state did not deny him one. The prosecution also argued in its filing that there have been aged-based gun restrictions in Massachusetts and other states "as far back as 1776."
"The Supreme Judicial Court has repeatedly recognized the differences in the brains of emerging adults, noting they are not yet fully formed and are akin to that of children, and as such are treated differently," the prosecution said.
Challenges to gun laws in Massachusetts
This is the latest challenge to gun laws in Massachusetts following a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that expanded concealed carry rights.
Last year, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that New Hampshire gun owners have to follow Massachusetts firearm laws, even though they may be legally allowed to have those weapons in their home state.
"We emphasize that the Second Amendment right to bear arms is not absolute," the court said in that ruling.
