{"id":2664359,"date":"2026-09-18T17:35:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T21:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigndoj-federal-ban-on-sale-of-handguns-to-18-year-olds-is-unconstitutional\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T17:37:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T21:37:52","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigndoj-federal-ban-on-sale-of-handguns-to-18-year-olds-is-unconstitutional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigndoj-federal-ban-on-sale-of-handguns-to-18-year-olds-is-unconstitutional\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ: Ban On Handgun Sales To 18-Year-Olds Is Unconstitutional"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigndoj-federal-ban-on-sale-of-handguns-to-18-year-olds-is-unconstitutional%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2664359&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Department of Justice (DOJ) has concluded that the federal ban on selling handguns and handgun ammunition to individuals aged 18 to 20 is unconstitutional under the Second amendment. As an inevitable result,the DOJ announced it will no longer prosecute licensed dealers for selling handguns to law-abiding adults in this age group,even though the law remains on the books. Historically, federal law since 1968 restricted sales to those under 21, citing concerns over violent crime, but recent legal rulings, including a 5th Circuit decision in Reese v. Bureau of Alcohol, found no historic tradition justifying such a ban for 18-20-year-olds. The DOJ&#8217;s move aligns wiht the idea that adults at 18 have rights similar to older adults concerning firearm purchases, and it emphasizes the constitutional protections of the Second Amendment. However, state laws still regulate handgun sales to minors. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/openai-employees-dropped-more-than-296k-on-democrats-while-republicans-got-nothing-filings-show\/\" title=\"OpenAI Employees Dropped More Than 6K on Democrats While Republicans Got Nothing, Filings Show\">article includes details<\/a> about <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >public interest sharing options<\/a>, author information, and related legal tags.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/robertnelson\/439618212\">Robert Nelson\/Flickr<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/\">CC BY 2.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/09\/18\/doj-federal-ban-on-sale-of-handguns-to-18-year-olds-is-unconstitutional\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=DOJ: Federal Ban On Sale Of Handguns To 18-Year-Olds Is Unconstitutional&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/09\/18\/doj-federal-ban-on-sale-of-handguns-to-18-year-olds-is-unconstitutional\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=DOJ: Federal Ban On Sale Of Handguns To 18-Year-Olds Is Unconstitutional&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/09\/18\/doj-federal-ban-on-sale-of-handguns-to-18-year-olds-is-unconstitutional\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/09\/18\/doj-federal-ban-on-sale-of-handguns-to-18-year-olds-is-unconstitutional\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=DOJ: Federal Ban On Sale Of Handguns To 18-Year-Olds Is Unconstitutional&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/09\/18\/doj-federal-ban-on-sale-of-handguns-to-18-year-olds-is-unconstitutional\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\">                     <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); pfTrackEvent(&#039;DOJ: Federal Ban On Sale Of Handguns To 18-Year-Olds Is Unconstitutional&#039;); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\">                     <span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span>                     <\/a>                 <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"pf-content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eighteen-year-olds \u201cmay vote, serve on juries, be drafted, and face adult criminal penalties,\u201d and now they can purchase handguns and handgun ammunition from a licensed firearm dealer without the dealer being prosecuted by the DOJ if they are otherwise eligible, Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/justice-department-concludes-federal-ban-handgun-sales-18-20-year-olds-unconstitutional-and\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> in a statement Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DOJ\u2019s Office of Legal Counsel found the federal prohibition on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/handgun-sales-ban-for-adults-ages-18-20-violates-second-amendment-doj\/\" title=\"Handgun sales ... for ... ages 18-20 violates Second Amendment: ...\">licensed dealers selling handguns<\/a> and handgun ammunition to 18-20-year-olds is inconsistent with the Second Amendment and therefore cannot be criminally enforced by the Justice Department.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3431450117\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 1968 federal law has prohibited licensed dealers from selling handguns or handgun ammunition to individuals under the age of 21, thanks to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. At the time Congress said access to handguns was correlated to violent crime. The rule was again <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/5th-circuit-says-federal-ban-221501410.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">upheld<\/a> in 2012 by the 5th Circuit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In <em>Reese v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms<\/em>, adult individuals under age 21 sued over this very rule. The 5th Circuit ultimately ruled that there is no historic tradition that could justify banning the sale of handguns and handgun ammunition to 18-20-year-olds, as required by the new <em>Bruen<\/em> test established by the Supreme Court. Notably, however, the 5th Circuit\u2019s decision only covered a handful of states that fell within the 5th Circuit\u2019s purview.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But now the DOJ will no longer prosecute licensed dealers in any state for selling a handgun to an 18-year-old who is otherwise qualified to purchase. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To be clear, the statute is still on the books, and Congress did not repeal it. But the DOJ says it will not seek criminal penalties against dealers who sell to law-abiding 18-20-year-olds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Constitution protects the people\u2019s right to keep and bear arms. The Department of Justice may not constitutionally seek to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-wisconsin-governor-vetoes-five-pro-life-bills\/\" title=\"Democratic Wisconsin Governor Vetoes Five Pro-Life Bills\">impose criminal penalties<\/a> on dealers who sell handguns to law-abiding adults who, in nearly every other relevant respect, are members of the political community,\u201d Gaiser said in a statement. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DOJ said it \u201cfound no Founding era history or tradition of precluding legal adults from purchasing firearms to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/seattle-suburb-backs-down-from-ban-on-abortion-clinic-protesters\/\" title=\"Seattle Suburb Backs Down From ... on Abortion Clinic Protesters\">protect public safety<\/a>. To the contrary, at the Founding, militia statutes overwhelmingly required service beginning at 18 and required enrollees to furnish their own arms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The opinion does not affect the enforcement of state laws that prohibit the sale of handguns to adults under 21.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags no-print bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/atf\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">ATF<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Department of Justice<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/doj\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">DOJ<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/handguns\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Handguns<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/law\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Law<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/omnibus-crime-control-and-safe-streets-act\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/reese-v-bureau-of-alcohol\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Reese v. Bureau of Alcohol<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/second-amendment\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Second Amendment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/t-elliot-gaiser\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">T. Elliot Gaiser<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eighteen-year-olds can now buy handguns legally<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2664360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/439618212_db28202465_k-e1789762030436.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[23094,50385,36794,32209,85896],"class_list":["post-2664359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-constitutional-rights","tag-gun-control-2","tag-legal-ruling","tag-second-amendment","tag-youth-firearm-laws"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/439618212_db28202465_k-e1789762030436.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2664359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2664359"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2664359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2664363,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2664359\/revisions\/2664363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2664360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2664359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2664359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2664359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}