10th Circuit backs Colorado under-21 age restriction on gun purchases

(CN) — If you’re buying or selling a gun in Colorado, make sure you’re over 21.

A 10th Circuit panel revived a state law that raises the minimum legal age to purchase a gun to 21 years old on Tuesday, ruling in a 100-page order that the law does not violate the Second Amendment and further withstands the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial Bruen test.

In the court’s majority opinion reversing a lower court’s injunction, U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Federico wrote that the necessity of some kind of age requirement was widely accepted across the country.

“After all, no one is reasonably arguing that 8-year-olds should be allowed to purchase guns,” wrote the Biden appointee.

The Colorado General Assembly passed the law requiring citizens to be 21 years old to buy and sell firearms in early 2023.

The plaintiffs — zero-compromise Second Amendment advocacy group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and two individuals, Adrian Pineda and Tate Mosgrove — then sued Democratic Colorado Governor Jared Polis in April 2023 after he signed the law, claiming the law infringed on their Second Amendment rights.

The state appealed after Chief U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer, a George W. Bush appointee, granted a preliminary injunction that blocked the law from going into effect on Aug. 7, 2023. The 10th Circuit declined to lift the injunction during the appeal.

Until now, the law has remained unenforced.

In the majority opinion, Federico relied heavily on the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen , which recommends looking to history for guidance on gun laws and established a two-step test for determining if a gun law is constitutional.

The three-judge panel held that Colorado’s age requirement passed the first step of the Bruen test upon evaluation of the plain text of the Constitution, determining that imposing commercial restrictions on the sale or purchase of firearms does not clash with the plain text of the Second Amendment.

“A minimum age requirement of 21 is a nondiscretionary condition or qualification on the commercial sale of arms aimed at ensuring guns are held by law-abiding, responsible persons,” Frederico wrote. “In fact, the federal government, almost all 50 states, and the District of Columbia have each implemented a minimum age requirement for some or all firearm purchases.”

The panel also highlighted the law’s exceptions for police and active-duty military and that it doesn’t prohibit anyone from owning a gun or transferring ownership of a gun without purchase. It also noted that the law had a relevant interest in ensuring that guns were held by law-abiding citizens.

“SB 23-169 is presumptively lawful as a law that imposes conditions or qualifications upon the sale and purchase of arms and thus does not fall within the protections of the plain text of the Second Amendment,” Frederico said.

Federico also looked to history for the panel’s justification per Bruen’s second step, noting that Colorado has a historical tradition of regulating firearms. Since 1968, federal law has required Coloradans to be 21 years old to purchase a pistol, but citizens under age 21 could still purchase rifles.

Federico further noted that the government brought compelling scientific evidence for the new age requirement, citing recent psychological studies on how young adults’ brains mature. The panel agreed that people in their late teens and early 20s were likely to be more impulsive and have less developed cognitive abilities like memory and reasoning.

The panel also rejected the idea that the minimum age for purchasing a firearm should automatically mirror the minimum voting age.

“Equally misguided is the belief that the age at which most states currently set the age of majority (i.e., the point at which one is no longer considered a minor) is the only appropriate minimum firearm purchase age. Indeed, at the Founding most states set the age of majority at 21,” Frederico said.

In general, the court also agreed with prior rulings from the Ninth Circuit, finding that laws imposing conditions on gun sales do not necessarily violate the Second Amendment.

In a concurring opinion, U.S. Circuit Judge Carolyn McHugh, a Barack Obama appointee, argued that the Bruen test should apply at step two regarding historical justification, not step one. However, she agreed with the overall decision of the court that there was historical evidence that gun laws restricting ownership below 21 were longstanding.

Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Michael Murphy, a Clinton appointee, joined Federico in the majority opinion.

Neither Rocky Mountain Gun Owners nor Governor Jared Polis’s office immediately responded to a request for comment.