Lara v. Commissioner Pennsylvania State Police

Supporting Pennsylvania’s restrictions on 18-to-20-year-olds carrying firearms in public.

Court: Third Circuit

Issues at Stake: Public carry; Age restrictions

Summary: On September 29, 2021, Everytown filed an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, urging the court to affirm the district court’s decision upholding Pennsylvania’s restrictions on open and concealed public carry for those under 21. This brief argued that restrictions on the transfer of firearms to individuals under 21 are consistent with historical understandings of the Second Amendment. It explained that individuals under 21 were historically considered minors, and that laws curtailing minors’ access to and use of firearms have existed for more than 150 years.

On August 2, 2022, Everytown filed an additional amicus submission arguing that Pennsylvania’s public-carry restrictions are constitutional under the approach to Second Amendment cases set out in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen. The brief explains that the plaintiffs failed to establish, as required under Bruen’s textual inquiry, that the Second Amendment’s plain text covers their conduct. The brief also argues that the proper focus for historical analysis is the second half of the 19th century and later periods, which contain a wealth of restrictions demonstrating that individuals under 21 do not have a right to carry firearms in public.