Attorney General Bonta Joins Multistate Coalition to Continue Supporting Pennsylvania's Commonsense Age-Based Firearm Restrictions

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta, as part of a coalition of 19 attorneys general, filed a brief in support of the State of Pennsylvania’s petition for rehearing en banc in Lara v. Commissioner of Pennsylvania State Police. Pennsylvania law sets the minimum age at 21 for securing a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public and during states of emergency. The case is currently pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit after remand from the U.S. Supreme Court for further consideration in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Rahimi. The coalition’s brief argues that the Third Circuit’s three-judge panel erred in its decision to strike down the laws as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment and that the panel’s reasoning could undermine efforts by states to protect their citizens through the application of similar age-limitation laws. In fact, most states across the nation impose some age-based restrictions on the possession, purchase, or use of firearms reflecting their collective judgment that such laws promote public safety and curb gun violence within their borders.

“States must have the ability to protect citizens and communities from the harmful effects of gun violence and promote the safe use of firearms,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The Third Circuit’s decision to overturn Pennsylvania’s law is inconsistent with our nation’s historical tradition as well as longstanding state and federal laws imposing age-based restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms. We stand with Pennsylvania and other states in their efforts to curb gun violence through these kinds of commonsense laws that improve public safety.” 

In the brief, the coalition asserts that Pennsylvania’s law is constitutional under the Second Amendment and is consistent with states’ authority and a historical tradition of state regulations promoting gun safety and protecting communities from gun violence. The coalition argues that the Third Circuit’s decision to strike down Pennsylvania’s law misreads the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, which preserves states’ authority to regulate firearms through laws that are “consistent with the Second Amendment’s text and historical understanding.” States still retain meaningful authority to regulate access to firearms even after Bruen and Rahimi.

Attorney General Bonta urges the Court of Appeals sitting en banc to overturn the panel’s decision because: 

• The Second Amendment allows states to enact varied measures to promote gun safety and protect against gun violence consistent with historical tradition, and states have long exercised this power by enacting laws to promote safety, prevent crime, and minimize gun violence within their borders.
• Pennsylvania’s age-based restrictions are consistent with measures taken by other states and fall comfortably within states’ authority to regulate firearms. Most states and the District of Columbia impose age-based restrictions regarding the use, purchase, or possession of firearms, and a majority of states have determined that those under the age of 21 should be more restricted in their ability to carry firearms in public. Courts have previously upheld these restrictions relying on the historical record as is now required by Bruen.
• The panel’s categorical rejection of relevant historical evidence from the time period when the Fourteenth Amendment incorporated the Second Amendment against the states is inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent and fundamental principles of constitutional adjudication.

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington in filing the brief.

A copy of the brief can be found here.