A Blatant Disregard for the Second Amendment

In a November 29 article titled “18 Year Olds and the Right to Bear Arms,” my colleague Tammy discusses the two current lawsuits that are challenging Texas and Federal laws regarding the legal age for handgun sales. She deliberates as to whether the age should be lowered from 21 to 18, and, in the end, I think she made the right choice; the Second Amendment applies to all legal, law-abiding citizens of age 18 and older.

At age 18, U.S. citizens are considered adults for all intents and purposes except alcohol consumption and the purchase of concealable firearms. The latter seems counterintuitive to the liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights which allows 18 year olds to serve in the armed forces and to vote as citizens. Tammy contends that if you are old enough to give your life for this nation, you ought to be able to purchase a firearm, and I wholeheartedly agree. Simply put: the age limit for handgun ownership should be lowered in order to, at the very least, establish some consistency for the age of adulthood in the U.S. In Texas, individuals aged 17 and older may be tried as an adult which I think is reason enough to allow that age group to purchase concealable weapons since they are old enough to be held accountable for their actions.

Tammy mentions that the Second Amendment guarantees citizens the right to keep and bear arms. Depriving a portion of our citizenry this fundamental right is unconstitutional and a blatant disregard of the Bill of Rights by both our state and national governments.

Furthermore, I think it is obvious that unlawful juveniles will acquire concealable weapons whether it is legal to sell to them or not. Allowing law abiding 18 year olds to purchase handguns would only allow them to protect themselves against their cohorts who may use illegally acquired weapons in acts of violence. Statistics confirm that arming the citizenry does not increase the occurrence of violence. In fact, studies show that when citizens own guns, crime actually decreases. Conversely, when guns are outlawed, only outlaws have guns, and the rate of crime goes up.

For example, during the years in which the D.C. handgun ban and trigger lock law was in effect, the Washington, D.C. murder rate averaged 73% higher than it was at the outset of the law. Depriving any law-abiding citizens of the right to own firearms is a dangerous violation of our civil liberties, and I commend Tammy for bringing attention to this egregious issue.