Kramer Levin Files Amicus Brief on Behalf of Everytown for Gun Safety Supporting California Age-Based Restrictions on the Sale of Firearms

On Jan. 26, 2021, Kramer Levin filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Jones v. Becerra on behalf of its client Everytown for Gun Safety. Everytown is the nation’s largest gun violence prevention organization, with nearly 6 million supporters in all 50 states, fighting for public safety measures that respect the Second Amendment and help save lives. The plaintiffs in Jones claim that California Penal Code § 27510(a) violates the Second Amendment, and seek injunctive relief against its application, which the district court denied. The challenged statute restricts the sale of firearms to individuals under the age of 21 by licensed firearms dealers in California.

Our brief supports the position of the Attorney General of California, who is defending the challenged statute. Our brief provides the Jones court with a legal and historical analysis of age-based firearms restrictions. Applying the Ninth Circuit’s two-step framework, first, we argue that during the relevant time period for historical analysis, individuals under the age of 21 were considered minors.  Second, we review historical and longstanding restrictions on the sale of firearms to minors.  Third, we debunk plaintiffs’ argument, reliant on militia laws from the 18th Century, as inconsistent on its own terms and with the Supreme Court’s decision in Heller.  Finally, we discuss the precedents of other courts upholding the constitutionality of similar age-based restrictions on the purchase of firearms.

Plaintiffs’ lawsuit is one of several lawsuits that have been filed in federal and state courts around the country, arguing that similar statutes regulating the sale or transfer of firearms to persons under 21 years old are unconstitutional. Kramer Levin recently filed amicus briefs on behalf of Everytown for Gun Safety in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Hirschfeld v. ATF and in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in NRA v. Swearingen, supporting the constitutionality of similar age-based restrictions on the purchase of firearms.

Read the brief here.