Florida court says 18-year-olds have same gun rights as other adults
A Florida appeals court ruled Wednesday that the state's ban on concealed carry by adults ages 18 to 20 violates the Second Amendment , finding that young adults are entitled to the same constitutional protections as law-abiding adults over the age of 20. In a sweeping opinion, the court said 18-year-olds can serve in the military and defend the nation but face restrictions on their ability to exercise the same self-defense rights available to older adults. "Eighteen- to 20-year-olds can defend the country without restriction but can only utilize their Second Amendment right to self-defense with severe restrictions," Judge Spencer D. Levine wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel of Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeals. "Restricting 18- to 20-year-olds — members of the same 'political community' as other law-abiding adults — from rights to self-defense would make the Second Amendment a 'second-class' right," Levine wrote. FEDERAL JUDGE ...