DOJ Abandons Under-21 Handgun Ban

The Trump Justice Department just told a federal appeals court it will not enforce the federal ban on handgun sales to 18-to-20-year-olds against anyone, anywhere in the country.

Driving the news: In a filing with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in FPC v. ATF, the DOJ argued that its Office of Legal Counsel has already concluded the under-21 handgun purchase ban violates the Second Amendment, and that there's "no reasonable prospect" the government will reverse course and start enforcing it again.

"The Department of Justice's determination that it will not enforce the challenged provisions against anyone, anywhere, demonstrates that there is no longer a live controversy."

State of play: The case started when a district court found the ban unconstitutional but limited its injunction to members of Firearms Policy Coalition and the Louisiana Shooting Sports Association who belonged to those groups when the suit was filed, and only those living within the Fifth Circuit. FPC wants the Fifth Circuit to widen that protection to cover all its members, present and future, nationwide.

The legal question: The DOJ is leaning hard on Trump v. CASA, the Supreme Court decision that bars judges from issuing injunctions broader than what's needed to give the actual plaintiffs complete relief. By declaring it won't enforce the statute against anybody, the government argues there's nothing left to litigate — no live controversy, no need for the Fifth Circuit to rule on how far the injunction should stretch.

Yes, but: That argument only holds up as long as this administration, or one like it, controls the Justice Department. OLC opinions aren't statutes — a future administration hostile to gun rights could quietly reverse the opinion and start enforcing the ban again. If that happens, any FPC or LSSA member who turned 18, 19, or 20 under the current non-enforcement policy and lives outside the Fifth Circuit could suddenly find themselves locked out of buying a handgun at their local shop.

Between the lines: The DOJ isn't just defending gun rights here — it's also protecting its own flank. A broad injunction for FPC sets precedent for broad injunctions against any administration, including ones that might target policies this DOJ actually wants to keep. That's why the filing insists "ordinary Article III and equitable principles" should govern associational plaintiffs just like everyone else, even while conceding the underlying law is unconstitutional.

What's next: The Fifth Circuit still has to decide whether the case is moot now that enforcement has stopped, or whether it needs to rule on the scope of the injunction anyway. FPC's attorneys are expected to argue that a narrow injunction tied to current membership and current circuit lines doesn't actually give their members complete relief — not when a membership roster changes every year and a future DOJ could flip the switch back on.

The bottom line: Under-21 buyers can walk into a gun store and buy a handgun today without the federal government standing in the way. Whether that protection survives the next change of administration depends entirely on how broad a net the Fifth Circuit is willing to cast.