Federal Judge Finds Pennsylvania Law Barring 18-20 Year-Olds from Concealed Carry Unconstitutional
U.S. District Court judge William S. Stickman decided this week against Pennsylvania’s prohibition on 18-20- year-olds securing a concealed carry permit in order to be armed on their persons for self-defense.
The lawsuit–Lara v. Evanchick–was brought by the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, and three private citizens, including Madison M. Lara, after whom the case is named.
Section 6109(b) of Pennsylvania’s concealed carry law states that persons 21 and older may apply for a carry license. Plaintiffs’ attorneys noted that Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Robert Evanchick’s “active enforcement” of Section 6109(b) for permit issuance means law-abiding 18 to 20-year-olds are unable to carry for self-defense.
The attorneys specifically argued that Evanchick’s enforcement violates the Second Amendment rights of Lara and others who are law-abiding and at least 18 years of age but not yet 21 years of age.
Judge Stickman, a Trump appointee, weighed Section 6109(b) in light of the Supreme Court of the United States’ Heller (2008) and McDonald (2010) decisions and decided against the concealed carry permit issuance guidelines. Moreover, because the ability to transport firearms without fear of criminal charges was in view as well, he prohibited Evanchick from arresting 18-20-year-olds who openly carry handguns for self-defense during a state of emergency.
SAF executive director Adam Kraut commented on the case, saying, “Judge Stickman’s injunction has conferred the same Second Amendment rights upon 18-20-year-olds that those over 21 have had. Now 18-20-year-olds in Pennsylvania may apply for License to Carry Firearms and the state’s draconian transportation laws have been enjoined from enforcement. This is a victory for Second Amendment rights in PA.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, and a pro-staffer for Pulsar Night Vision. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Beef is his favorite vegetable. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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