A federal judge has ruled that Texas can't prohibit 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying a handgun in public.
The law in Texas prevents most 18- to 20-year-olds from getting a license to carry a handgun or carrying a handgun for self-defense outside their home, The Texas Tribune reported.
Two plaintiffs between 18-21, along with the Firearms Policy Coalition Inc., had challenged the law in court, according to the Tribune.
U.S. District Court Judge Mark Pittman ruled in their favor, saying the Second Amendment does not specify age limits and protects adults under 21.
"Based on the Second Amendment's text, as informed by Founding-Era history and tradition, the Court concludes that the Second Amendment protects against this prohibition," Pittman ruled.
And, according to CNN, the coalition's senior attorney for constitutional litigation, Cody Wisniewski, said: "Texas cannot point to a single founding era law that prohibited 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying a functional firearm for self-defense, because not only did no such law exist, but those individuals are an important reason why we have a Bill of Rights in the first place. And young people have just as much a right to keep and bear arms in public as adults over the age of 21."
The ruling gives the state 30 days to appeal before the decision goes into effect.
CNN contacted the attorney general's office for comments, but did not immediately hear back.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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