Can someone’s Constitutional rights be age restricted greater than eighteen years old? That question that is being debated in state governments and courtrooms in different parts of the country. The center of this debate revolves around the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Some states have been passing laws to raise the age of buying long guns from 18 to 21. They claim it is intended to reduce crime by keeping more guns out of the hands of younger people. This move has triggered a debate and even lawsuits by gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America and others.
Gun Control Laws don’t reduce crime
Studies have clearly shown laws such as this have no impact on reducing crime and the politicians know it. We all know when someone has reached the age of 18 doesn’t mean they have matured mentally or are responsible. There are some people much older than that who are still irresponsible and very immature and still make bad decisions. The purpose behind this law is to make it more difficult for individuals to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
Individuals have been considered legal adults at the age of 18 years old. The Militia Act of 1792 clearly said 18-year-old men could be called upon to serve in the defense of our country.
Constitutional Rights Apply at age 18
The Second Amendment remains the most controversial Constitutional right.
The Twenty-sixth Amendment became part of the Constitution on July 1, 1971 and blocked government from restricting individuals who were 18 years old and above from being able to vote. The driving force behind this amendment was the draft. Politicians and citizens of the day believed that someone sent to war at 18 should have the right to vote.
Additionally, some state governments have been pushing to lower the voting age even further. Washington, D.C. may lower the voting age for federal and local elections to 16. Courts have held that many Constitutional rights apply to individuals under the age of 18. Cases involving schools restricting the First Amendment rights of students have struck down those policies.
An 18-year-old can vote, has the right to free speech and religion of their choice, can serve in the military and enter into contracts. No one questions the application of any other civil right at that age except for the Second Amendment.
Raising the age to buy guns is an attack on the Second Amendment
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The push for laws such as this is more about advancing the liberal political agenda of destroying the Second Amendment. A poll conducted earlier this year shows that 39 percent of Democrats supported repeal of the Second Amendment altogether. A total of 8% of Republicans supported repeal as well.
The Second Amendment has a history of being controversial, but the controversy has only grown in recent decades. One of the most influential cases on this issue by the US Supreme Court is the case of District of Columbia v. Heller. The 5 to 4 decision by the court solidified in law the tradition that the Second Amendment applied to individual citizens of the United States.
Founding Fathers wanted Americans Armed
Our Founding Fathers specific purpose for putting the Second Amendment into the Bill of Rights was to give the individual citizen the ability to protect themselves, their families and their freedoms from anyone who threatened them. They knew how oppressive an out of control government could be and wanted to make sure it didn’t happen here.
If the political class are able to take the Constitutional rights to keep and bear arms away, which right would they want to take next?