Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today led a coalition of 21 attorneys general filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit urging that court to affirm the lower court’s decision to uphold Florida’s law prohibiting individuals under the age of 21 from purchasing firearms.
Raoul and the coalition filed the brief in National Rifle Association v. Commissioner, Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The lawsuit challenges a provision of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act that generally prohibits the purchase of firearms by individuals under the age of 21. Raoul also led a coalition in October 2021 defending the Florida law in the same case. A panel of the appellate court issued an opinion in March 2023 upholding the law, but the full court voted to rehear the case and will hear argument in the fall.
“Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act establishes a reasonable age-based restriction on the sales of firearms in hopes of preventing yet another deadly school shooting perpetrated at the hands of our youth,” Raoul said. “This act bears the name of a tragedy that may have been averted by commonsense firearm sales restrictions. I will continue to defend states’ ability to craft regulations to ensure dangerous weapons do not fall into the hands of those who will not use them responsibly.”
In the brief, Raoul and the coalition argue that the Second Amendment gives states the ability to enact sensible regulations designed to promote gun safety and protect against gun violence that are consistent with historical tradition. For example, the coalition explains states have long exercised their power to protect the health, safety and welfare of their residents by enacting safety measures to minimize gun violence.
Additionally, Raoul and the attorneys general explain Florida’s age-based regulation is consistent with measures taken by other states and upheld by other courts across the country. Although regulations differ based on each state’s needs, virtually every state and the District of Columbia has imposed some age-based restrictions on the sale or use of firearms, and at least 19 states and the District of Columbia have enacted a minimum age requirement of 21 for the sale or possession of certain categories of firearms.
The brief is the most recent step in Attorney General Raoul’s work to address gun violence throughout Illinois and across the nation. The Attorney General’s office created a state-of-the-art crime-gun tracing database for Illinois law enforcement called Crime Gun Connect. Raoul’s office also collaborates with local law enforcement to combat gun trafficking and has used the office’s jurisdiction to prosecute multi-county gun trafficking offenses. Additionally, the Attorney General’s office works with law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to increase awareness of Illinois’ red flag law and to address gaps in Illinois’ firearms licensing system. The office also prosecutes individuals who lie on FOID card applications.
The Attorney General’s office partners with the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) to try to avert violence by hosting trainings for law enforcement officers, educators, religious leaders and other community members that are designed to prevent targeted acts of violence.
Attorney General Raoul has persistently advocated at the federal and state levels to strengthen regulation of 3D-printed guns and ghost guns. Illinois law now prohibits ghost guns, but the office continues to fight in federal court to help defend a recent rule closing the federal loophole. Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s office also defends cases pending in courts across the state challenging Illinois’ regulations of firearms. Nationally, Attorney General Raoul successfully filed and resolved a lawsuit to get the federal firearm license of an unscrupulous arms manufacturer revoked.
In addition to supporting law enforcement efforts to keep communities safe from gun violence, the Attorney General’s office supports victims’ service providers around Illinois that offer trauma-informed services for crime victims and their families. Raoul’s Violence Prevention and Crime Victim Services Division administers a host of programs and services to assist survivors of violent crime. More information is available on the Attorney General’s website.
Joining Raoul in filing the amicus brief are the attorneys general California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
