On Friday, May 16, the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) filed a Petition for Certiorari in NRA v. Glass, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its challenge to Florida’s prohibition on firearm purchases by adults under 21.
Since 2018, Florida has completely banned 18-to-20-year-olds from purchasing any firearm, of any kind, for any purpose. An 18-to-20-year-old who purchases any firearm in violation of the ban is subject to five years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. The NRA filed a lawsuit in 2021 arguing that the ban violates the Second Amendment. On March 14, 2025, however, the en banc Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the purchase ban in a fractured decision. The NRA is now petitioning the Supreme Court to hear the case.
“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.”
The NRA’s Petition for Certiorari focuses on the need for the Supreme Court to review the split among the federal circuit courts over whether adults under 21 have Second Amendment rights. The Third, Fifth, and Eighth Circuits have all held that they do, and thus invalidated restrictions that violated those rights. The Fourth and Ninth Circuits previously reached similar conclusions, albeit in decisions that were subsequently vacated. The Tenth and Eleventh Circuits, by contrast, have each upheld laws banning firearm purchases by adults under 21.
The Petition also explains why Florida’s ban is unconstitutional under the test set forth in the NRA’s landmark Supreme Court victory, NYSRPA v. Bruen: adults under 21 are among “the people” protected by the Second Amendment, and no historical tradition justifies prohibiting their purchase of firearms. In fact, virtually every 18-to-20-year-old was required to acquire and possess firearms throughout the colonial and Founding eras in American history.
The Petition for Certiorari can be found here.
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