The National Rifle Association is taking a stand — and it’s going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. On Friday, the NRA officially filed a petition to challenge a controversial Florida law that bans adults under 21 from purchasing rifles and other long guns.
This legal showdown has been brewing for years. Florida passed the law in the emotional aftermath of the 2018 Parkland tragedy, when a 19-year-old used a semiautomatic rifle to carry out a horrific school shooting. But while the emotional response may have driven lawmakers, the NRA says the law tramples the constitutional rights of law-abiding adults.
Legal Adults, Stripped of Rights
“This law strips away the rights of full-grown adults,” the NRA’s legal team argued in the filing. “These are 18-to-20-year-olds who vote, pay taxes, join the military, start families — but Florida says they can’t legally buy a hunting rifle or defend their home? That’s not just unconstitutional — it’s un-American.”
The Florida law prohibits anyone under 21 from buying a long gun but still allows them to receive one as a gift from parents. But the NRA contends that this workaround is a poor substitute for freedom.
Clashing Courts Demand High Court Review
The Supreme Court petition comes after a deeply divided federal appeals court upheld Florida’s law in March. The 11th Circuit Court ruled 8-4 that the restriction was “consistent with historical firearm regulation.”
But not every court agrees. In January, the 5th Circuit — which covers Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi — struck down a similar federal age restriction. That circuit split is exactly why the NRA says the Supreme Court must act.
“This kind of inconsistency across the country is intolerable,” the NRA’s petition says. “The Constitution doesn’t change when you cross state lines.”
History Misunderstood
The NRA also slams the 11th Circuit’s interpretation of history, saying there is no evidence from the founding era that adults age 18 and up were barred from owning or acquiring firearms.
“In fact, the opposite is true,” the petition says. “At the founding, 18-year-olds were expected to show up to militia duty with their own guns. Now Florida says they can’t even buy one.”
Gun Rights Are Adult Rights
The organization emphasized a key point: 18-year-olds are adults under the law — and adulthood comes with rights.
“You can sign a mortgage, be tried as an adult, even die in uniform for your country at 18,” the NRA said. “But Florida thinks you’re not mature enough to buy a hunting rifle? That’s not public safety — that’s political theater.”
A Fight for the Second Amendment
The NRA’s case is about far more than Florida. It’s about defending the right of every American adult to keep and bear arms — a right that doesn’t magically appear at 21.
Now the ball is in the Supreme Court’s court. Will it side with the Constitution and America’s young adults — or allow states to keep carving away at gun rights one age bracket at a time?
Pro-Second Amendment Americans across the country are watching.
