(The Daily Caller)—A Florida appellate panel ruled Wednesday that the Second Amendment barred the state from restricting concealed carry to those 21 and older.
Republican Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier drew ire from anti-Second Amendment groups after he declined to defend the law against a challenge raised by two public defenders in Broward County, the Orlando Sun-Sentinel reported in February. In an 18-page opinion, Judge Spencer D. Levine wrote for a unanimous panel that the Second Amendment was not a “second-class right.”
“The plain text of the Second Amendment covers the right of 18- to 20-year-olds to the public carry of firearms, which would include concealed carry as a manner of public carry,” the decision in Eubanks v. Florida reads.
Jalen Eubanks was arrested on charges of carrying a concealed weapon after he told police he displayed the weapon to deter two men who were threatening him, the Sun-Sentinel reported. In the ruling, Levine noted that 18-year-olds were encouraged to enter the military, but were denied the right to protect themselves.
“All those who reach the age of 18 are able, and encouraged, for example, to join the military to defend our country. Yet those very same law-abiding adults are burdened in their ability to exercise the same Second Amendment rights that other adults have,” Levine wrote. “Eighteen- to 20-year-olds can defend the country without restriction but can only utilize their Second Amendment right to self-defense with severe restrictions.”
“This burden on law-abiding 18- to 20-year-olds’ right to public carry—and specifically here concealed carry—which is not applicable to any other adults, is a burden that is facially unconstitutional as to 18- to 20-year-olds,” Levine continued.
The appeals court became involved after conflicting rulings in lower courts in Broward County involving 19-year-olds who were carrying firearms, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
Uthmeier celebrated the ruling in a Wednesday post on X, saying he would not appeal the ruling, but would instead move forward with applying it.
“In another win for the unalienable rights of Floridians, the 4th DCA agreed with our position that Florida’s law banning adults under 21 from conceal carrying a firearm is unconstitutional,” Uthmeier posted. “We will not seek further review and will work with @FDACS [Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services] to implement the court’s order.”
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation making Florida a “constitutional carry state” in April 2023, which ended the requirement for a concealed carry permit for those who met certain criteria.
