News

Gun Rights Group Amends Lawsuit To Lower Tennessee Constitutional Carry Age To 18+ After Texas Victory

   DailyWire.com
Revolvers sit on display in the Smith & Wesson booth on the exhibition floor of the 144th National Rifle Association (NRA) Annual Meetings and Exhibits at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., on Saturday, April 11, 2015. Top Republican contenders for their party's 2016 presidential nomination are lining up to speak at the annual NRA event, except New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who were snubbed by the country's largest and most powerful gun lobby. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A gun rights group filed an amended complaint Wednesday in its lawsuit seeking to lower the age requirement of Tennessee’s constitutional carry law to adults age 18 and older.

The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed an amended complaint in its Tennessee lawsuit after winning a similar case in Texas last month. FPC sued Tennessee last year after the state passed a law allowing residents age 21 and older to either open or concealed carry a handgun without a permit.

“The State cannot carry its burden of proving the existence of ‘a distinctly similar historical regulation’ that burdened the right to bear arms in the same way and for the same reasons,” FPC’s amended complaint says. “Instead, the relevant historical evidence weighs heavily in favor of upholding the right to carry loaded handguns in public for 18-to-20-year-olds, just the same as for those who are 21 years and older.”

“They are squarely among ‘the people’ for whom the Second Amendment guarantees were created. They were not only allowed to keep and bear arms without any restriction but required to do so during the Founding era that shaped the liberties enshrined in the Amendment,” the complaint says.

On August 25, a federal judge in Texas struck down part of a state law barring adults ages 18 to 20 from carrying a handgun without a permit.

“Based on the Second Amendment’s text, as informed by Founding-Era history and tradition, the Court concludes that the Second Amendment protects against this prohibition,” U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman wrote in the ruling.

FPC Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack cited the Texas ruling in a statement about the updated Tennessee complaint. He said the Tennessee lawsuit gave the court the “opportunity” to apply last year’s Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen appropriately.

“Just two weeks ago in the FPC-led case Andrews v. McCraw, a federal district judge in Texas concluded that the Constitution demands the restoration of the right to bear arms to the young adults of that state,” said FPC Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. “With today’s filing in Beeler, the Eastern District of Tennessee now has the opportunity to properly apply Bruen and reach the same conclusion.”

In Bruen, the Supreme Court struck down a New York law requiring applicants for a permit to carry a handgun to demonstrate that they have a special need for self-defense in addition to other requirements.

Create a free account to join the conversation!

Already have an account?

Log in

Got a tip worth investigating?

Your information could be the missing piece to an important story. Submit your tip today and make a difference.

Submit Tip
Download Daily Wire Plus

Don't miss anything

Download our App

Stay up-to-date on the latest
news, podcasts, and more.

Download on the app storeGet it on Google Play
The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  Gun Rights Group Amends Lawsuit To Lower Tennessee Constitutional Carry Age To 18+ After Texas Victory