BFA-backed Ohio Senate bill would allow young adults to purchase handguns from licensed dealers

Federal law currently prohibits federally licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to adults ages 18 to 20.

However, a series of legal challenges — including one potentially decided by the U.S. Supreme Court — could overturn those restrictions, deeming them unconstitutional. In anticipation of such a ruling, Ohio lawmakers are taking proactive steps.

Senate Bill 303, sponsored by Sen. Terry Johnson (R-McDermott), backed by Buckeye Firearms Association, and introduced Oct. 21, is a preemptive move that would allow adults ages 18 to 20 to purchase a handgun from a federally licensed retailer, aligning state law with a possible favorable Supreme Court ruling striking down restrictions.

It does not mean state law would trump existing federal law, and that isn't the bill's intent.

"While Sen. Jonson's bill will not change federal law, it will prepare Ohio for the coming Supreme Court challenge to change the law regarding handgun purchases for those 18 to 20 years old," said Dean Rieck, Buckeye Firearms Association executive director.

Legal contradictions and confusion

The debate over young adults’ Second Amendment rights is riddled with inconsistencies, especially when the laws differ between handguns and long guns, so let's break down some of the present absurdities.

Although it is illegal at the federal level and state level for a licensed dealer to sell a handgun to a young adult, an unlicensed person is not prohibited from furnishing one, according to an April 2022 post by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"An individual between 18 and 21 years of age may acquire a handgun from an unlicensed individual who resides in the same state, provided the person acquiring the handgun is not otherwise prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms under federal law. A federal firearms licensee may not, however, sell or deliver a firearm other than a shotgun or rifle to a person the licensee knows or has reasonable cause to believe is under 21 years of age."

Consider this: The 26th Amendment gives 18-year-olds the right to vote. Moreover, every branch of the U.S. military permits 17-year-olds to enlist, according to a federal government fact sheet, "Requirements to join the U.S. military."

Eighteen-year-olds are allowed to buy long guns, even in California, where the Ninth Circuit reversed a lower district court and upheld their constitutional rights, saying in part, "First, the historical record showed that the Second Amendment protects the right of young adults to keep and bear arms, which includes the right to purchase them."

Rieck calls the contradictions illogical.

"Eighteen-year-olds can vote, drive, carry weapons in war, get married, raise children, enter into contracts, open bank accounts, serve on juries, make personal medical decisions, play the lottery, buy cigarettes, and participate in most other adult activities," Rieck said. "It makes no sense that they are deprived of gun rights."

He also noted that most crimes involving guns are committed by those who are disqualified from owning them and that those guns are acquired illegally.

Patchwork of court rulings

Courts at various levels have issued conflicting rulings. For example:

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in January struck down the federal ban, but that ruling applies strictly to those in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
• The Tenth Circuit ruled the other way in November 2024, allowing Colorado to continue prohibiting sales to adults under age 21.
• The Fourth Circuit in June of this year upheld the federal ban.

On a slightly different note, in July 2024, the Eighth Circuit ruled unanimously that Minnesota's ban on concealed carry by young adults was unconstitutional, stating in part:

“Importantly, the Second Amendment’s plain text does not have an age limit. … Ordinary, law-abiding 18 to 20-year-old Minnesotans are unambiguously members of the people. Because the plain text of the Second Amendment covers the plaintiffs and their conduct, it is presumptively constitutionally protected."

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case, meaning the Eighth Circuit's ruling stands.

Now it's up to the U.S. Supreme Court to be the final arbiter in determining whether adults under age 21 have the same Second Amendment rights as a 22-year-old.

Second Amendment Foundation and its partners have petitioned the high court for review in Brown v. ATF, SAF’s challenge to the federal ban that prevents adults ages 18 to 20 from purchasing handguns from licensed dealers.

Said Adam Kraust, SAF executive director and attorney of record in the case:

“The issue of 18-20-year-olds purchasing handguns is split between two circuit courts across the nation. Additionally, the circuit courts are split as to the ability of this age group being able to acquire and carry firearms more broadly. There is no doubt that adults under 21 are part of 'the People' and therefore should be afforded the same rights as other adults, and in particular, be able to fully exercise their Second Amendment rights by purchasing a handgun — the ‘quintessential self-defense weapon.’"

Preparing Ohio for a legal shift

S.B. 303 is a somewhat similar approach to previous efforts in Ohio, such as Senate Bill 214 and House Bill 331, which aimed to remove suppressors from the definition of dangerous ordnance. A Senate parliamentarian unfortunately yanked the federal legislation from the "Big Beautiful Bill," rendering the Ohio bills moot for now.

S.B. 303 is designed to ensure Ohio law is ready if the Supreme Court rules in favor of young adults’ gun rights.

The Ohio General Assembly has introduced several gun-related bills this session, with some advancing faster than others. To see where BFA stands on the bills, click on the Legislation tab at buckeyefirearms.org.

Joe D. "Buck" Ruth, a longtime small-game hunter and gun owner who spent nearly three decades in the news industry, is the website and social-media manager for Buckeye Firearms Association.