The Supreme Court of the United States denied cert Monday in Worth v. Harrington, which means the Minnesota ban on concealed carry permits for 18-20 year-olds remains struck down.
On July 17, 2024, Breitbart News noted that a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit found that Minnesota’s ban against 18-20 year-olds seeking permits to carry handguns for self defense is unconstitutional.
The panel from the Eighth Circuit found that Minnesota’s ban on 18-20 year-olds applying for permits to carry handguns in public for self-defense could not survive Bruen (2022), writing, “Minnesota has not met its burden to proffer sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption that 18 to 20-year-olds seeking to carry handguns in public for self defense are protected by the right to keep and bear arms.”
Worth v. Harrington is a Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) case; SAF’s founder Alan Gottlieb celebrated the Eight Circuit panel’s ruling in July 2024 by telling Breitbart News, “This is a significant victory for the rights of young adults. It is one more step in our crusade to win firearms freedom one lawsuit at a time.”
The whole of SAF likewise celebrated after SCOTUS’s cert denial allowed the Eight Circuit panel’s ruling to stand:
BREAKING The Supreme Court has denied Cert in Worth v Harrington, SAF’s challenging to Minnesota’s Young Adult Carry Ban. In denying Cert, our win in the 8th Circuit now stands as the final judgment in the case. This win will have repercussions around the country, where SAF is… pic.twitter.com/NvLAYvfkgW
— SAF (@2AFDN) April 21, 2025
On January 30, 2025, Breitbart News pointed out that a Fifth Circuit panel ruled against a lower court’s decision upholding a ban on handgun purchases by 18-20 year-olds.
Judge Edith Hollan Jones, a Ronald Reagan appointee, wrote for the majority in the Fifth Circuit panel, noting that the purchase ban for 18-20 year-olds could not stand under the scrutiny of Bruen’s (2022) demand for gun controls to be able to demonstrate congruency with historical tradition.
Also, Breitbart News noted that Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed legislation Friday which will allow 18-20 year-olds to own and carry handguns in Iowa beginning July 1, 2025.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly:
