Pennsylvania’s arbitrary young adult carry ban is on notice. On Friday, the National Rifle Association (NRA), Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), and a private citizen sued the state over its deeming adults under 21 unqualified to possess a firearm.
A separate 2025 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals struck down state restrictions on those 18 to 20 years old from openly carrying weapons during a declared state of emergency.
Second Amendment supporters should rally behind this challenge to the broader law, which has little to no basis in the nation’s history and tradition of firearm regulations.
State officials insist that young adults are not part of ‘the people’
FPC President Brandon Combs blasted state officials for stubbornly clinging to the age-based licensing ban.
“Pennsylvania already lost in the Third Circuit when it tried to deny 18-to-20-year-olds their right to carry firearms, but the Commonwealth still insists on treating peaceable adults as second-class citizens,” Combs said. “At 18, you can vote, get married, sign contracts, and serve in the military–but Pennsylvania says you cannot even apply for a license to carry a gun in your own car or on a street in Philadelphia.”
Current state law, when combined with the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, creates what amounts to entrapment for law-abiding citizens who must travel through expansive “gun-free” areas during their daily lives.
Random age-based bans are being challenged across the nation
The result, as the FPC press release announcing the lawsuit noted, “creates a massive labyrinth of prohibited areas throughout the Commonwealth, effectively disarming peaceable adults under 21 across vast portions of places they live, work, and travel.”
Again, the Third Circuit in Lara v. Commissioner, Pennsylvania State Police determined that this age group is part of “the people” as declared in the Bill of Rights. Young adults face the same dangerous situations across the state as all others of legal age, and self-defense is not a right that should be parceled out unequally.
The plaintiffs filed Maines v. Bethel in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
There’s no better way to show your patriotism than with merch that speaks before you do.
Defend America is more than a name, it’s a stand for freedom, resilience, and the values this country was built on. Every tee, hat, and mug is a symbol of unapologetic pride. Wear it loud, wear it proud, and let the world know: freedom isn’t negotiable.
Click the link below to join the movement.