Texas is gearing up to fight a judge鈥檚 ruling that the state can鈥檛 ban adults under 21 from carrying handguns, a move that鈥檚 drawing anger from some gun rights groups.
Last week, Attorney General Ken Paxton鈥檚 office filed a notice of an appeal of the ruling on behalf of the Texas Department of Public Safety. It came almost a month after U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, on Aug. 25, writing that the Second Amendment protects all adults鈥� right to bear arms without an age limit. The suit was brought on by two plaintiffs within the 18-to-20 age range and the Firearms Policy Coalition Inc. against the state of Texas.
The notice, which includes Paxton鈥檚 name on the filing, did not say the ground on which it would base its appeal. Paxton鈥檚 office did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for DPS said the agency does not comment on pending legal cases.
But in prior filings in the case, the state has argued that the law does not violate the Second Amendment as it is consistent with Texas鈥� 鈥渓ongstanding tradition鈥� of restricting access to guns based on age.
Andi Turner, the legislative director for the Texas State Rifle Association, agreed with Pittman鈥檚 ruling in the wake of the Supreme Court鈥檚 Bruen decision this summer, in which it ruled that people have a constitutional right to carry handguns for self-defense.
鈥淭he Founding Fathers never intended to put an age on what was an adult,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 see this as a victory for the Constitution.鈥�
鈥淚 fully can understand DPS appealing this from their perspective,鈥� but 鈥渇rom a Constitutional perspective, I believe the opinion Judge Pittman issued is correct,鈥� Turner added.
TSRA isn鈥檛 the only gun rights group reacting to the notice of appeal.
鈥淥nce again, government officials in the state of Texas are proven to be anti-gun stooges,鈥� said Dudley Brown, the president of the National Association for Gun Rights, in a news release.
鈥淒eep down, DPS knows that their appeal is unconstitutional and immoral, and we are confident that the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court will tell them to take a hike,鈥� Brown added.
Pittman鈥檚 ruling came as Democrats and some families of victims of the Uvalde school shooting have been advocating to raise the age at which people could buy rifles in Texas from 18 to 21. The gunman in that case purchased the AR-15-style rifle he used in the shooting soon after his 18th birthday.
In August, Gov. Greg Abbott cited the ruling when he to raise the minimum age to buy assault-style rifles from 18 to 21.
Abbott鈥檚 office did not respond to a request for comment.
