Gun-carry rights for adults under 21 will not be the subject of the Supreme Court’s next Second Amendment decision.
On Monday, the justices denied certiorari in Worth v. Jacobson. Minnesota’s Attorney General had asked the Court to review an Eighth Circuit ruling striking down the state’s law barring anyone under 21 from obtaining a concealed carry permit. The Court’s denial effectively concludes the lawsuit and immediately prevents the state from enforcing its age limit any further.
None of the justices wrote separately to comment on the denial.
The decision not to hear the case is a win for gun-rights advocates, who succeeded in challenging Minnesota’s law at every court level along the way. It allows adults under 21 to begin applying for Minnesota concealed carry permits. It also establishes a binding precedent across the entire seven-state region under the Eighth Circuit’s jurisdiction.
At the same time, the Court’s denial in the case could come as a surprise to some legal observers. Age-related firearms restrictions have divided the nation’s appeals courts in recent years, presenting a prime issue for the Supreme Court to potentially settle once and for all.
The fight over Minnesota’s carry permit age limit began in 2021 when the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), the Firearms Policy Coalition, and three individual young adults filed suit. A Biden-appointed district judge struck the law down in 2023, and the region’s appeals court affirmed that decision last July.
“Minnesota has not met its burden to proffer sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption that 18 to 20-year-olds seeking to carry handguns in public for self-defense are protected by the right to keep and bear arms,” Eighth Circuit Judge Duane Benton wrote. “The Carry Ban […] violates the Second Amendment as applied to Minnesota through the Fourteenth Amendment, and, thus, is unconstitutional.”
SAF cheered the High Court’s decision to let that opinion stand.
“Today’s cert denial confirms what we’ve said all along – the Second Amendment is not limited to those 21-years-old and above,” Alan Gottlieb, SAF founder, said in a statement. “We are cautiously optimistic the denial will have a positive impact in SAF’s challenges to similar bans in other states.”
The groups’ victory had immediate practical benefits for Minnesota gun owners on Monday. Shortly after the Supreme Court published its orders list, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension circulated a notice to firearms instructors across the state informing them of the policy change.
“Training entities certified by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension may now have instructors conduct trainings and issue approved training certificates to 18-20 year olds to allow such individuals to apply for a permit to carry,” the notice read.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D.) did not respond to a request for comment.
In addition to the Minnesota gun carry case, the Court also acted on another Second Amendment petition. It rejected an appeal to review the University of Michigan’s ban on carrying guns on campus, leaving the restriction intact.
It also once again delayed acting on two closely watched gun cases concerning Maryland’s ban on so-called assault weapons and Rhode Island’s ban on magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds. Those cases will be presented to the justices for the eleventh time at the Court’s conference this Friday.
