A federal lawsuit was just filed against Louisiana over a carry restriction that should never have existed.
The lawsuit, Pool v. Hodges, challenges Louisiana’s refusal to issue handgun carry permits to otherwise eligible adults under 21. Firearms Policy Coalition filed the case in the Western District of Louisiana and is already seeking summary judgment against the ban.
The issue is simple:18-to-20-year-old adults are part of “the People.”
Their Second Amendment rights do not magically appear on their 21st birthday.
The “Invisible Gun-Free Zone” Trap
Louisiana’s policy is especially dangerous because it creates a trap for young adults who carry.
Federal law generally prohibits firearm possession on or within 1,000 feet of a school unless the person has a carry license issued by the state where the school is located.
But Louisiana bars adults under 21 from getting that permit, even though they are allowed to carry under Louisiana’s permitless carry law.
In other words, the state tells young adults they are old enough to be treated like adults — but too young to get the permit needed to avoid a maze of invisible gun-free zones.
That is how gun control works.
It does not always show up as a straight ban.
Sometimes it shows up as a legal trap designed to make ordinary gun owners afraid to exercise their rights at all.
Adults Have Rights
FPC’s lawsuit follows the Fifth Circuit’s ruling in Reese v. ATF, which recognized that peaceable 18-to-20-year-old adults are among “the People” protected by the Second Amendment.
That should end the debate.
If an 18-year-old can vote, sign contracts, serve in the military, and be prosecuted as an adult, then that same adult should not be denied the right to bear arms because politicians picked an arbitrary age line.
The Second Amendment does not say “the right of the people over 21.”
It says “the right of the people.”
Texas Should Clean Up Its Own Law
Texas knows this fight, too.
After a federal court ruling in Andrews v. McCraw, DPS stopped denying otherwise eligible 18-to-20-year-old applicants for a Texas License to Carry solely because of their age.
But a constitutional right should not depend on a DPS FAQ page.
The Texas Legislature still needs to clean up state law and fully codify the right of law-abiding adults 18 and older to carry and obtain an LTC.
That should include fixing outdated statutory language for both License to Carry eligibility and Constitutional Carry.
Because young Texans should not have to gamble that every local officer, prosecutor, or big-city agency will follow a court ruling instead of the outdated anti-gun language still printed in Texas law.
The Legislature needs to finish the job.
Chip in today to help Texas Gun Rights keep fighting to defend Constitutional Carry, crush gun-free zone traps, and protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Texans.
