Navigation Federal appeals court upholds Florida law barring firearms sales to those under 21
A federal appeals court has affirmed the legality of a Florida measure that bars the sale of long guns to those under 21 years old, concluding that the law is in line with historical restrictions on firearms.
The National Rifle Association and plaintiff Radford Fant filed an appeal against the state’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, but the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the law was constitutional in a March 9 opinion.
“Acting well within that longstanding (post-Civil War) tradition, Florida responded to a 19-year-old’s horrific massacre of students, teachers and coaches at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in a far more restrained way,” the court’s opinion states. “The … (law) precludes those under 21 only from buying firearms while still leaving that age group free to possess and use firearms of any legal type.”
