Judge upholds Colorado’s under-21 firearm purchase ban

(CN) — A federal judge has upheld Colorado’s ban on firearm purchases by individuals under 21, dealing a blow to gun rights advocates who argued the law violated the Second Amendment.

In a closely watched case, Chief U.S. District Judge Philip A. Brimmer — a George W. Bush appointee — ruled that the state’s age restriction falls within a “presumptively lawful” category of gun regulations.

The ruling sided with Colorado Governor Jared Polis and deferred to a prior decision by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, finding Colorado’s age restriction qualifies as a historically grounded “condition for the commercial sale of arms” and thus falls outside the Second Amendment’s core protections. The decision solidifies the state’s authority to enforce the contested law and relies on a contentious legal doctrine that could shape future gun control battles.

Brimmer’s order grants summary judgment to the state and dismisses a lawsuit filed by the gun rights group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and two young adults, Adrian Pineda and Matthew Newkirk, who sought to overturn Senate Bill 23-169. The law, enacted in 2023, prohibits licensed dealers from selling firearms to anyone under 21 and bars underage purchases outright, with exceptions for active military and law enforcement personnel.

The judge acknowledged that Pineda and Newkirk — both law-abiding adults under 21 — are part of “the people” protected by the Second Amendment. However, he concluded that the 10th Circuit had already resolved the case last year, ruling that age-based restrictions on gun sales are historically rooted and thus exempt from strict scrutiny under New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen (2022) .

“The Tenth Circuit held that SB 23-169 is a constitutional condition for the commercial sale of arms,” Brimmer wrote, noting the plaintiffs “cannot establish a violation of a right secured by the Constitution.”

The Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision created a new test for gun laws: To survive a challenge, any restriction on conduct protected by the Second Amendment must have a historical analogy from the Founding Era (1790s) or Reconstruction (1860s). Courts can no longer uphold gun laws based solely on public safety rationales, leading many modern restrictions to be struck down.

Thursday’s decision underscores the fractured legal landscape surrounding gun laws post-Bruen . While the 10th Circuit upheld Colorado’s law as analogous to “longstanding” age restrictions, other federal appeals courts — including the Fifth and Third Circuits — have struck down similar bans attempted by other states, creating a circuit split that may require Supreme Court intervention.

In a brief phone conversation Thursday afternoon, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners executive director Ian Escalante criticized the ruling as unconstitutional and contrary to the Bruen decision, suggesting it could justify any gun control law as a “commercial regulation.”

“The ruling was absolutely disgraceful,” Escalante said. “It flies in the face of the Constitution … and it was a deliberate attempt to circumvent Bruen by trying to say that, well, because it’s a commercial regulation, the Second Amendment doesn’t apply. Which, by that logic, you could make any gun control law you want a ‘commercial regulation,’ even banning the sale of all firearms outright.”

Escalante said the organization would discuss its next steps with its legal team.

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Governor Polis said he was committed to making Colorado one of the 10 safest states, and “common sense laws encourage responsible gun ownership and keep people safe.”

“For decades in Colorado, you had to be 21 to purchase a handgun, per federal law,” the statement continued. “The requirement to be 21 was expanded to rifles and shotguns with the signing of SB23-169, and Governor Polis is glad to see the court affirm that Colorado’s common sense law does not infringe on Second Amendment rights. Governor Polis is confident this law has and will help keep Coloradans and our communities safe.”

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