The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed a motion for summary judgment in a case challenging Massachusetts’ ban on the purchase, carry and possession of nearly all modern firearms by 18-20-year-olds.

For an individual to purchase or possess a firearm in Massachusetts they must first acquire one of two licenses: a firearm identification card or a license to carry. Only the identification card is available for adults who are 18-20 years old, however, and even with that license it only allows residents in this age group to purchase and possess “…rifles and shotguns that are not large capacity or semi-automatic…”

“In no other context would the American people tolerate limiting the civil rights of adults based solely on their age,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “Denying adults under 21 years old the ability to possess a handgun – the quintessential firearm of choice for self-defense – is a clear violation of their Second Amendment rights. The ratification of the Bill of Rights takes precisely this sort of policy decision off the table, and Massachusetts lawmakers have no authority to strip away the rights of a discreet subset of the population.”

SAF is joined in Escher v. Noble by the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners’ Action League, Commonwealth Second Amendment, Firearms Policy Coalition, Gun Owners of America and a private citizen, Mack Escher.

“Adults who are 18 years old can serve in the military, marry, start businesses, serve on juries and are tried as adults should they be accused of breaking the law,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “They also possess the full panoply of civil rights enjoyed by ‘the People’ – including the right to keep and bear arms. Massachusetts lawmakers should be ashamed to have even attempted this discriminatory legal regime, and we’re thrilled for the opportunity to rectify the situation in court.”

For more information visit SAF.org.

The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.