ATLANTA, GA – Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced the filing of an opening brief with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Baughcum v. Jackson, which challenges Georgia’s ban on the right to bear arms as to young adults. The brief can be viewed atFPCLegal.org.
“Georgia has singled out 18-to-20-year-olds for differential treatment from other adults, seemingly out of a concern that they are too young to be trusted with the right to carry a firearm,” argues the brief. “Yet the Founders knew all about 18-to-20-year-olds; they required them to possess firearms in good working order and to know how to use them so that they could be ready to serve as members of the militia if the need arose. They never enacted a single ‘distinctly similar’ ban on carriage by them.”
“Despite the Supreme Court’s insistence that the right to bear arms outside the home is fundamental, Georgia continues to insist that fundamental rights don’t apply to all legal adults,” said Bill Sack, FPC Director of Legal Operations. “This case, and others like it in FPC’s national litigation strategy, are about undoing the immoral and unlawful double standards states like Georgia have undertaken. Individuals with all of the responsibilities of adulthood are also afforded all of the fundamental rights. There is no titration of rights based on arbitrary ages made up by state lawmakers.”
In addition to Baughcum, other FPC cases seeking to restore young adults’ right to keep and bear arms includeLara v. Evanchick (vs. Pennsylvania, in the 3rd Circuit),Andrews v. McCraw (vs. Texas, in the 5th Circuit),Reese v. ATF (vs. the federal government, in the 5th Circuit),Beeler v. Long (vs. Tennessee, in the 6th Circuit), Meyer v. Raoul (vs. Illinois, in the 7th Circuit),Worth v. Harrington (vs. Minnesota, in the 8th Circuit), andJones v. Bonta (vs. California, in the 9th Circuit).
Individuals who would like to Join the FPC Grassroots Army and support important pro-rights lawsuits and programs can sign up at JoinFPC.org. Individuals and organizations wanting to support charitable efforts in support of the restoration of Second Amendment and other natural rights can also make a tax-deductible donation to the FPC Action Foundation. For more on FPC’s lawsuits and other pro-Second Amendment initiatives, visit FPCLegal.org and follow FPC on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.
Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. FPC’s efforts are focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and adjacent issues including freedom of speech, due process, unlawful searches and seizures, separation of powers, asset forfeitures, privacy, encryption, and limited government. The FPC team are next-generation advocates working to achieve the Organization’s strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs.
FPC Law (FPCLaw.org) is the nation’s first and largest public interest legal team focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the leader in the Second Amendment litigation and research space.
