Application of 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(1) and (c)(1) to Young Adults

Section 922(b)(1) and (c)(1) of title 18, U.S. Code, is unconstitutional as applied to young adults between eighteen and twenty who seek to purchase handguns. The provision prevents young adults, who are members of “the people” to whom the Second Amendment applies, from owning “arms” in common use for self-defense. This places the burden on the government to show that the restrictions are consistent with the Nation’s tradition of firearm regulation, which it cannot do.