Trump judges, citing militias, have ruled against gun purchase limits for older teens – By Tierney Sneed (CNN) / May 26, 2022
(CNN)A spate of high-profile massacres where the shooters were in their late teens comes as the federal judiciary — yanked to the right by former President Donald Trump — has shown increased hostility to gun control measures aimed at people under 21 years old.
In the last year, two separate federal appellate courts, in opinions both written by Trump appointees, struck down restrictions that limited firearms sales to young adults. The most recent, from the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, said that California had violated the Second Amendment with its law prohibiting the sale of semi-automatic weapons to those under 21.
“America would not exist without the heroism of the young adults who fought and died in our revolutionary arm,” wrote Judge Ryan Nelson, who was joined by a fellow Trump appointee, Judge Kenneth Lee, in the May 11 decision. “Today we reaffirm that our Constitution still protects the right that enabled their sacrifice: the right of young adults to keep and bear arms.”
Last July, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals had said federal restrictions on the sale of handguns to 18-20 year-olds were unconstitutional. The panel majority — made up of a Trump appointee and judge named to the bench by President George W. Bush — embraced similar logic about teenage participation in militias when it ruled against a 1968 law.
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