Florida Court Strikes Down Gun Rights Restriction for Young Adults

Clear Facts

• Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal ruled that preventing 18-to-20-year-olds from obtaining concealed carry permits violates the Second Amendment
• The court determined Florida’s age restriction is facially unconstitutional based on the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision framework
• The ruling affects a state law that has restricted young adults from exercising their constitutional right to carry firearms for self-defense

A Florida appeals court has delivered a significant victory for Second Amendment rights, ruling that the state cannot deny concealed carry permits to law-abiding adults aged 18 to 20. The Fifth District Court of Appeal’s decision marks another step in restoring constitutional rights that have been incrementally eroded over decades.

The court’s ruling centered on Florida’s statutory scheme that prevented young adults from obtaining concealed weapons licenses. Applying the Supreme Court’s framework established in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the appeals court found no historical tradition supporting such age-based restrictions on the right to bear arms.

In another win for the unalienable rights of Floridians, the 4th DCA agreed with our position that Florida’s law banning adults under 21 from conceal carrying a firearm is unconstitutional.

We will not seek further review and will work with @FDACS to implement the court’s order.

— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) June 17, 2026

“We conclude that Florida’s statutory scheme, which categorically excludes 18-to-20-year-olds from obtaining a license to carry a concealed weapon or firearm, imposes a burden that is facially unconstitutional,” the court wrote in its opinion.

The decision reinforces the principle that constitutional rights do not come with arbitrary age requirements beyond legal adulthood. At 18, Americans can vote, serve in the military, enter contracts, and be held fully accountable under criminal law — yet have been denied the fundamental right to self-defense in many jurisdictions.

This ruling aligns with the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision from 2022, which established that gun control laws must be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Under this standard, the government bears the burden of proving that modern restrictions have clear historical analogues from the founding era or the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Florida’s restriction failed that test. The appeals court found that the state could not demonstrate a longstanding historical tradition of prohibiting young adults from carrying firearms for self-defense.

The decision comes as courts across the country grapple with applying Bruen’s historical analysis to various gun control measures. Lower courts have increasingly struck down restrictions that cannot be justified by America’s actual legal history rather than modern policy preferences.

For young adults in Florida, this ruling represents the restoration of a constitutional right that should never have been infringed. The Second Amendment’s text contains no age qualifications, and the Founders expected young men to be armed and capable of defending themselves and their communities.

The state may appeal the decision to the Florida Supreme Court or seek rehearing. However, the trend in post-Bruen jurisprudence strongly favors originalist interpretations of the Second Amendment that reject modern expansions of government power over individual gun rights.

This case reflects a broader national conversation about the proper scope of gun rights and the limits of government regulation. As courts continue to apply Bruen’s methodology, many longstanding restrictions are falling because they lack genuine historical support.

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