BELLEVUE, WA – The hysterical reaction by Everytown for Gun Safety, Giffords lobbying group and the Brady gun control group to the recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez which declared Minnesota’s restriction on handgun permits only for those over age 21 unconstitutional is proof these organizations are interested only in banning handgun ownership by young adults, the SAF said today.
“Everytown, Brady and the Giffords group all claim to support background checks and training,” noted SAF’s Alan M. Gottlieb. “Yet they want to keep young adults, who have training and can pass background checks, from having guns. This is hypocritical dishonesty.
“Their alleged concerns are unfounded, and they know it,” he continued. “Two years ago in Kansas, lawmakers overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of HB 2058, which creates a special concealed carry permit for young adults, with training and background check requirements. So far, there have been no issues.
“In Montana,” he added, “the age of majority has been 18 since a state constitutional change in 1978. There have been no issues in Big Sky Country as a result, either.
“What these experiences prove is that the gun prohibition lobby has a head-in-the-sand approach,” he observed. “They want the rest of us to bury our heads to recent history. In Minnesota, a handgun permit doubles as a permit to acquire a handgun. This permit also allows an individual to carry a rifle or shotgun in public under various circumstances.”
Another example is California, where for many years prior to the enactment of the 1968 Gun Control Act, the minimum age for a Dealer’s Record of Sale for handguns was 18 with most of the people going through the process being women. While there were other issues with 18–21-year-olds with handguns, the individuals who went through the process were acquiring handguns registered to them after going through the waiting period background check system. They were not a problem. When California adopted through-dealer processing on intra-state private party transactions in the state, California had to create a work-around, just as was judicially mandated in Virginia to address 18-to-20-year-olds.
The Second Amendment Foundation, has several cases in progress challenging laws that discriminate against anyone under age 21 where handguns are concerned. Gottlieb said this is an issue which must be addressed because young adults are considered mature enough to vote, join the military and possibly be killed in combat, get married, sign contracts, start businesses and even own their own homes. Yet they cannot legally purchase handguns for personal protection.
The importance of Judge Menendez’s decision is also highlighted by unique Minnesota factors. One, a handgun permit acts a permit to acquire a handgun under Minnesota law. And, two, the handgun permit allows an individual to carry rifle and shotguns in public under various circumstances so as to not rely on various other exemptions.
Everytown and the Brady Campaign, should pay more attention to the views of the Founder of the Democratic Farm Labor Party Hubert Humphrey and Eleanor Roosevelt on the importance of the Second Amendment. And they should remember that it was not only 18-20-year-olds but women – particularly women of color – who are exercising these rights.
