Ohio appeals court affirms 2A rights of 20-year-old Dayton woman

An Ohio appeals court cited the Second Amendment in December, when it affirmed a county judge's dismissal of an indictment of a Dayton woman who was not yet 21 years old when she was arrested on firearms charges based solely on her age.

The back story

On Aug. 8, 2024, a Montgomery County grand jury returned an indictment, charging Makayley Matosky, then 20, with carrying concealed weapons in violation of Ohio Revised Code 2923.12(A)(2) and with improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle in violation of ORC 2923.16(B).

According to case records obtained through the Montgomery County Clerk of Courts (Case No. 2024 CR 01417), Matosky subsequently moved to dismiss the charges on grounds that those two state laws are unconstitutional as applied to her because they violated her Second Amendment right to bear arms. Matosky was about 10 weeks away from her 21st birthday at the time of her arrest May 9, according to court records.

At issue was a state law, ORC 2923.111(A)(2)(a), which defines a "qualifying adult" as one who is "Twenty-one years of age or older" who isn't otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal laws. In its Sept. 29, 2024, motion to dismiss charges, the defense argued that neither law was applicable to Matosky because the "offenses criminalize otherwise legal conduct on the basis of age. Moreover, the conduct criminalized is protected as a fundamental right by the United States and Ohio Constitutions."

The alleged criminal offenses then, according to the defense, violate her rights under the Second and Fourteenth amendments in the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Section 4, of the Ohio Constitution.

Montgomery County assistant prosecutor Mathias H. Heck Jr. responded Oct. 9, 2024, that historically, Matosky "would be considered as 'infant.'" He went on to imply that restricting possession of firearms by persons under age 21 is "consistent with this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."

Responses were submitted back and forth until April 9, 2025, when Montgomery County Judge Angelina N. Jackson — a Democrat, according to Dayton Daily News — dismissed the charges on the grounds that "the Court finds R.C. 2923.111, R.C. 2923.12 and 2923.16 to be unconstitutional under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments as applied to Ms. Matosky and further, finds that prosecutions for the charged offenses violate her Second Amendment rights." Jackson declined to comment on whether Matosky's rights were violated under the Ohio Constitution.

She did, however, make two key points:

1. "The carrying of firearms by persons aged 18 to 20 is covered by the plain text of the Second Amendment."
2. "The State has failed to meet its burden to establish that prohibiting law-abiding adults aged 18 to 20 years old from carrying concealed handguns is consistent with this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."

The prosecution unsuccessfully appealed the dismissal April 15.

In its Dec. 19 final judgment entry and opinion, the Ohio Second District Court of Appeals repeatedly pointed to Second Amendment rights and the 2022 Bruen decision (New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen), a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that expanded gun rights, especially the right to carry a handgun in public.

The appellate court's ruling, issued by Judge Robert G. Hanseman (a Republican), noted the history of rights afforded to young adults, pointing to the fact that being a minor was about being in the custody of a parent or guardian, not a matter of whether an individual was 20 or 21 years old. Concurring judges were Christopher Epley and Ronald Lewis.

"We … find that while there may be a historical tradition of restricting minors' access to firearms, Matosky was not a minor at the time of the charged offenses," he wrote. "Rather, Matosky was at the age of majority — a legal adult — and there is no analogous historical tradition of restricting a legal adult's right to bear arms based solely on the adult's age."

The state "has failed its burden to demonstrate that Ohio's age-based restriction on having and transporting accessible, loaded firearms in a motor vehicle is consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation," he wrote, adding that the court finds that the statutes "are unconstitutional as applied to Matosky."

Senate Bill 303 would advance young adults' gun rights

A bill introduced by Sen. Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) anb backed by Buckeye Firearms Association would not directly affect cases like Matosky's, but it would serve as a win for young adults' Second Amendment rights.

Senate Bill 303 would allow a person who is between 18 and 21 years old to receive or purchase a handgun from a federally licensed firearms dealer.

SB 303 was introduced Oct. 21 and assigned to the Senate General Government Committee on Nov. 19, with no further action.