Under‑21 Carry Ban SHATTERS In Florida

A handgun partially visible in a belt holster worn by a person in casual clothing

A Florida appeals court just ruled that the state cannot ban 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying concealed firearms — and it could be the crack that breaks open the entire post-Parkland gun restriction law.

Story Highlights

Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals struck down the state’s concealed-carry ban for 18- to 20-year-olds, ruling it violates the Second Amendment.
The ruling aligns with a growing number of federal courts finding that young adults have full constitutional gun rights under the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen standard.
Florida’s own Attorney General sided against the state’s 2018 gun law, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to strike it down entirely.
A deep circuit split now exists across the country, making a Supreme Court showdown increasingly likely.

Florida Court Says the Ban Cannot Stand

Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals ruled in June 2026 that a state law barring adults aged 18 to 20 from carrying concealed firearms is unconstitutional. The court ruled in Jaylen Tyrus Eubanks v. State of Florida, vacated Eubanks’ conviction, and sent the case back to a lower court. The three-judge panel said the plain text of the Second Amendment protects the right of 18- to 20-year-olds to carry firearms in public. The court also found no historical tradition in U.S. law that supports banning this age group from carrying guns.^[8]

The ruling leans on the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which threw out balancing tests and required courts to check gun laws against the nation’s founding-era history and tradition. Under that standard, Florida’s concealed-carry age ban failed. The court noted a clear contradiction: 18-year-olds can serve in the military without restriction, yet they faced severe limits on their Second Amendment rights at home.^[8]

The 2018 Law and the Fight Behind It

Florida passed its sweeping gun restriction law in 2018 after the Parkland school shooting killed 17 people. The law raised the minimum age to buy rifles and long guns from 18 to 21. The National Rifle Association (NRA) challenged the law almost immediately, arguing it “obliterates” the Second Amendment rights of young adults — not just limits them.^[6] Years of court battles followed, with a federal district judge and later the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the purchase ban in an 8-4 ruling in early 2025.^[3]

Despite that loss, the fight kept moving. The NRA appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in May 2025, pointing to a growing split among federal appeals courts.^[7] Then came a remarkable twist: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced he would not defend the 2018 law. His office filed a 17-page brief urging the Supreme Court to strike it down, arguing the law violates the Second Amendment rights of 18- to 20-year-olds.^[2]

Circuit Split Puts the Supreme Court on the Clock

Courts across the country are landing on opposite sides of this question. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the federal handgun purchase ban for 18- to 20-year-olds in January 2025, finding the government showed “scant evidence” that such restrictions existed at the founding.^[5] The Third and Eighth Circuits have also ruled that young adults hold full Second Amendment rights. But the Tenth and Eleventh Circuits have gone the other way, upholding age-based purchase bans.^[7]

That split matters enormously. When federal appeals courts disagree this sharply on a constitutional question, the Supreme Court typically steps in to settle it. The NRA’s petition asks the justices to do exactly that. Florida’s own top law enforcement official now agrees the law is wrong — a rare moment where a state’s executive branch openly breaks from its own legislature on a gun rights question. With courts divided and a state AG switching sides, the Supreme Court can’t ignore this fight much longer.