In a unique maneuver to try to get the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve a dispute between federal circuit courts, the Second Amendment Foundation has filed a response brief with the court encouraging the justices to hear its case involving licensed carry by young Minnesotans 18 to 20 years old.
In the case Jacobson v. Worth, SAF is joined by the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, the Firearms Policy Coalition and three private citizens, Kristin Worth, for whom the case is named, Austin Dye and Axel Anderson. All three have turned 21 since the case was filed, but the Eighth Circuit Court granted a motion to supplement the record and allow another individual, Joe Knudsen, to carry the complaint.
“This is not a case where a lower court decided an issue without the benefit of an intervening precedent from this Court, nor is it a case where a lower court was unaware of one of this Court’s precedents or attempted to bury any consideration of the precedent in a footnote,” the SAF argued in the brief. “The Eighth Circuit was plainly aware of Rahimi and thoughtfully and faithfully applied it. Summarily vacating and remanding the decision below in these circumstances would be a remarkable departure from this Court’s practice—and a remarkable and unjustifiable rebuke of the court of appeals.”
SAF further pointed out in the brief that the division among circuit courts over the matter is not equally divided.
“The federal courts of appeals have indeed split over the constitutionality of restrictions on 18-to-20-year-olds’ right to carry firearms or to acquire them in the first place,” the brief stated. “The decision below is on the heavy side of that lopsided split: a total of three Circuits, including the Eighth, have fully protected the Second Amendment rights of this age cohort, while only one goes the other way. And the decision below is also on the correct side: text and history clearly dictate that 18-to-20-year-olds enjoy full Second Amendment rights.”
Adam Kraut, SAF executive director, said the filing by his organization was a unique one in that they are agreeing with the state in asking the high court to take the case, even after winning in the appeals court.
“Today’s filing is unique in that we are agreeing with Minnesota’s request in asking the Supreme Court to hear our case to resolve a dispute between the circuits,” Kraut said in a news release announcing the filing. “The lower courts are not unanimous in their approach to the Second Amendment rights of 18-20-year-olds. It is important that the Court weigh in to confirm that 18-20-year-olds are part of ‘the People’ and the Second Amendment applies in full to those individuals. The ban Minnesota seeks to uphold eviscerates the right of those adults to be able to carry a firearm for self-defense. This is patently unconstitutional and while we prevailed at the court of appeals, the Supreme Court needs to ensure all the lower courts reach the proper result. By taking this case, they can do just that.”
Alan M. Gottlieb, SAF founder and executive vice president, said the Supreme Court should hear the case because states defending such bans cannot meet the second Bruen requirement of showing a historical precedent.
“A clear majority of federal courts have already protected the Second Amendment rights of young adults,” Gottlieb said. “As we note in our brief, we are not aware of any evidence of colonial or Founding-era laws restricting 18-to-20-year-olds from their right to keep and bear arms. Indeed, history is full of evidence that people in this age group were not prevented from keeping or carrying their own arms.”
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