In a significant new development, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has filed a powerful reply brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case West Virginia Citizens Defense League v. ATF. The central question: Does the Second Amendment protect 18-, 19-, and 20-year-old adults?

The SAF argues unequivocally that it does—and that the Supreme Court must settle this issue once and for all.

At the heart of this case is a long-standing federal law that prohibits adults under 21 from purchasing handguns from federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs). The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this restriction, sparking a deep divide among federal courts. Some circuits have ruled that young adults do have full Second Amendment protections, while others have not—creating what’s known as a circuit split.

Currently, the Fifth Circuit—which includes Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi—has struck down the age-based handgun ban as unconstitutional. Meanwhile, other circuits continue to enforce it. This means young adults in different states live under conflicting federal standards, an inconsistency the Supreme Court typically steps in to resolve.

In its reply brief, the Second Amendment Foundation outlines five key reasons why the Supreme Court must grant certiorari (“cert”) and take the case now. Among them:

• Clear circuit split on whether young adults have Second Amendment rights.
• Inconsistent enforcement of the same federal law across states.
• Immediate constitutional harm to young adults currently barred from exercising their rights.
• Precedent showing the Supreme Court often resolves such federal conflicts.
• No reason to delay, as the Court often hears multiple cases under the same constitutional provision in one term.

SAF also notes that delaying the case would effectively deny justice to those currently affected. Once these individuals turn 21, the case becomes moot—meaning they will have lost their Second Amendment rights for the three most formative years of their adulthood.

The Solicitor General’s Office, representing the Department of Justice, isn’t arguing that young adults lack Second Amendment rights. Instead, they’re asking the Court to wait until it rules on two other pending gun cases this term:

1. Wolford v. Lopez – challenging Hawaii’s so-called “no-carry” or “vampire rule,” which bans lawful concealed carry in most public spaces.
2. U.S. v. Daniels (Hammani) – questioning whether regular marijuana users can legally own firearms under federal law.

The DOJ contends that these decisions might inform how the Court handles future Second Amendment challenges.

The SAF counters that waiting is unacceptable. Because of the split among circuits, some Americans are currently denied a right that others enjoy. Federal laws are supposed to apply uniformly across all states, but that’s not the reality today.

The case also raises fundamental questions about the constitutional rights of young adults—a group often recognized as legal adults for military service, voting, and taxation, but restricted when it comes to firearm ownership.

While the Supreme Court has already agreed to hear the Wolford and Hammani cases, pressure is mounting for it to add West Virginia Citizens Defense League v. ATF to its docket.

If the Court grants cert, the ruling could reshape federal firearms policy for millions of young adults and provide long-awaited clarity on whether age-based handgun restrictions violate the Second Amendment.

The Second Amendment Foundation remains confident, stating that “18-, 19-, and 20-year-old Americans are entitled to full-blown Second Amendment rights—no more, no less.”