The National Rifle Association (NRA) is taking its fight against a Florida law that prohibits 18-to-20-year-olds from purchasing rifles and other long guns to the nation’s highest court. On May 16, 2025, the gun rights organization filed a Petition for Certiorari in NRA v. Glass, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review and overturn the state’s firearm purchase ban for young adults.
Florida law, enacted in 2018, completely bans firearm purchases by individuals between the ages of 18 and 20. Violators face penalties, including up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
The NRA initially challenged the ban in 2021, arguing it infringes upon the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding adult citizens. However, on March 14, 2025, the en banc Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Florida law in a fractured decision, prompting the NRA’s appeal to the Supreme Court.
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“Americans 18 years of age and older are considered adults who can vote, enter into contracts, marry, and enlist and fight for our country,” said John Commerford, Executive Director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA). “Those same adults are also guaranteed the right to defend themselves through the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The NRA is asking the Supreme Court to take up this critical case to safeguard the constitutional rights of adults under 21.”
A key element of the NRA’s petition is the existing disagreement among federal circuit courts regarding the Second Amendment rights of adults under 21.
While the Third, Fifth, and Eighth Circuits have previously affirmed these rights and struck down similar restrictions, the Tenth and Eleventh Circuits have upheld bans on firearm purchases for this age group. The Fourth and Ninth Circuits had also reached conclusions supporting these rights in decisions that were later vacated.
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The NRA further argues that Florida’s ban is unconstitutional under the framework established by the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen. The petition asserts that 18-to-20-year-olds are unequivocally part of “the people” whose rights are protected by the Second Amendment.
The organization also contends that there is no historical precedent in American tradition to justify prohibiting this age group from purchasing firearms, pointing to historical periods where 18-to-20-year-olds were often required to acquire and possess firearms.
The Supreme Court will now consider whether to grant the NRA’s petition and hear the case, a decision that could have significant implications for gun rights and regulations across the country.
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