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    National Rifle Association v. Swearingen

    10.25.21

      Defending Florida law prohibiting the purchase of firearms by persons under twenty-one.

      Court: Northern District of Florida; Eleventh Circuit

      Issue at Stake: Age restrictions

      Summary: Everytown filed this amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit urging the court to affirm the district court’s decision upholding the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. This post-Parkland law prohibits the purchase of firearms by persons under the age of 21. Everytown’s brief details the long history of such age-based restrictions, which have existed for more than 150 years and which courts and scholars consistently have found to be constitutional. In light of this historical record, Everytown’s brief demonstrates that Florida’s law does not infringe upon a right protected by the Second Amendment.

      Everytown previously submitted amicus briefs in this case in January and September 2020 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. 

      Decision: On June 24, 2021 the district court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the Second Amendment does not protect the purchase of firearms by 18-to-20-year-olds.

      Case Documents

      January 28, 2020 – Everytown’s Amicus Brief in Support of Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (N.D. Fla.)Download
      September 10, 2020 – Everytown’s Amicus Brief in Support of Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (N.D. Fla.)Download
      June 24, 2021 – Order on Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment (N.D. Fla.)Download
      October 25, 2021 – Everytown’s Amicus Brief in Support of Defendant-Appellee (11th Cir.)Download

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      Did you know?

      30 percent of guns recovered by ATF in California have no serial number on them, making it impossible for law enforcement to trace.

      Stephens A. “Ghost Guns Are Everywhere in California”. The Trace. (2019). https://bit.ly/2DKkIlt