Judge Strikes Down Carry Permit Restriction in Minnesota

A federal judge has deemed Minnesota’s restriction on carry permits unconstitutional for individuals aged 18-20 years old.

Minnesota had imposed an age requirement of at least 21 years for public handgun carrying permits since 2003, applicable to citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

However, as declared by judge Katherine Menendez of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in her ruling, such restrictions forbid individuals from exercising their Second and Fourteenth Amendments rights to bear arms.

Three Minnesota residents in the age group of 18-20 years, along with three sheriffs, filed a lawsuit against John Harrington, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. They challenged the age restriction, which three gun rights advocacy groups, namely the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, Second Amendment Foundation, and Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc., joined.

Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus Chair Bryan Strawser stated that the verdict was a significant victory for 18-20-year-olds that had been waiting to exercise their right to bear arms.

While the Epoch Times reached out to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s office for comment, no reply has been received.

Meaning of the Supreme Court’s Bruen Decision

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that the age limit challenged the Second Amendment since it allowed 18-20-year-olds to bear arms during the United States’ founding. Last June, they received a further boost when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the first time in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen that the Second Amendment is an individual right that applies outside of the home.