The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Thursday that a federal statute requiring people to be 21 to purchase handguns from Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) conflicts with previous Supreme Court decisions and the Second Amendment.

The plaintiffs, Caleb Reese and Emily Naquin, challenged the constitutionality of 18 USC 922 (b)(1) and (c)(1) on the grounds it infringes their right to bear arms protected under the Second Amendment and their equal protection under the Fifth Amendment. As a result of the statute, young adults between 18 and 20 cannot “purchase handguns from FFLs,” but the court acknowledged it does not prohibit this age group from owning, possessing, or carrying handguns or receiving them as gifts.

The court applied the legal test from the Supreme Court in New York Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen. The first step is to determine whether the Second Amendment’s plain language covers a person’s conduct. The court found that the right to “keep and bear arms” implies the right to purchase them—contrary to the position of the government—and concluded that the Second Amendment protects young adults between 18 and 20 to purchase handguns.

The second step is for the government to justify its regulation by showing that “it is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”  In United States v. Rahimi, the US Supreme Court elaborated how the aim and details of the regulation burden the right to bear arms is significant in the second step. Concluding that the government’s evidence did not overcome its burden to prove a tradition of firearm restrictions for 18-to-20-year-olds, the court reversed the lower court’s decision and determined that (b)(1) and (c)(1) are unconstitutional.

At the start of the new year, states took off in two separate directions in terms of gun regulation. On one hand, states such as California, Colorado, and New York have enacted tighter gun restrictions while states such as South Carolina and Louisiana have expanded gun protection.

A similar decision was handed down in Pennsylvania earlier this month where the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit found the state’s statutes preventing “18-to-20-year olds from carrying firearms outside of their homes during a state emergency” was unconstitutional. The court also relied on Rahimi and Bruen to support their opinion.