Part of the problem with states restricting guns for adults under the age of 21 is that the feds do it already. In federal law, handguns cannot lawfully be sold to anyone under the age of 21, which more or less enshrines the idea that the Second Amendment is a second-class right and essentially encourages states to do the same.

And it’s nonsense.

As we’ve seen repeatedly, criminals under the age of 21 aren’t having any trouble getting firearms in spite of the law. The only people being harmed are the law-abiding in that age category. They can’t buy handguns for self-defense, and while they can lawfully own them, someone has to give them the gun, and any right that depends on someone else doing something for you isn’t much of a right

Rep. Thomas Massie isn’t a big fan of this. Say what you want about Massie, but he’s as pro-gun as they come, and that means taking action to try and end this travesty of justice.

He’s introduced a bill to end this once and for all.

Huge news! 📣

Today, @RepThomasMassie filed H.R. 1643, a bill focused on ENDING the ban on handgun sales to 18 to 20-year-old.

The SAFER Voter Act would restore the right of young adults to purchase handguns for self-defense. 👏 pic.twitter.com/fRsiKwltsY

— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) February 27, 2025

As you can see, the bill is remarkably short and to the point. There’s no obfuscation or legalese to hide something nefarious. It just strikes out the offending portions of federal law and calls it a damn

Boom.

I’ve always found it oddly disturbing how many anti-gunners will claim that the Second Amendment isn’t treated like a second-class right, then want to expand voting rights to people under 18, how they wouldn’t dream of telling minors they can’t speak freely, how they wouldn’t do anything at all to restrict other constitutionally protected rights to not just adults, but adults over a certain age, and yet they want to completely disarm adults under 21.

You can’t have it both ways, but the fact that the federal government already did that is a problem.

Massie’s bill fixes that.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that while the GOP controls both chambers of Congress, they don’t have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. That means it’s entirely possible that this could get jammed up there and never make it to President Trump’s desk.

It’s not like Democrats have become more pro-gun since November, so I’m skeptical that there will be any real chance of this getting through, but there’s also the possibility that some savvy moves by Republicans could bring this to a vote and put an end to this discriminatory law once and for all.

If that happens, that’s a huge win for gun rights across the board. While some state laws will continue to restrict guns based on age, at least federal law won’t, which means the courts can rip those other restrictions up as they come across them, at least until the Supreme Court rules that they’re unconstitutional.