As President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reviews federal agencies and departments to identify billions of dollars in wasted tax money, a Senate Democrat is seeking to waste even more by introducing unconstitutional legislation with little chance of passing.
On Friday, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, announced legislation aiming to increase the minimum age for purchasing so-called “assault weapons”—common semi-automatic rifles owned and used by millions of law-abiding Americans—and so-called “high-capacity” ammunition magazines from 18 to 21 years old.
“Seven years after a 19-year-old gunman tragically took the lives of 17 students and faculty in Parkland, we’re still seeing far too many preventable mass shootings at the hands of deadly assault rifles,” Sen. Padilla said in a news release announcing the measure.“If you can’t legally buy a handgun, there’s no reason you should be able to buy a military-grade weapon. This commonsense legislation would raise the minimum age to purchase or carry an assault weapon or high-capacity ammunition from 18 to 21—the same standard already in place for purchasing handguns—helping to curb the gun violence epidemic that continues to devastate communities in California and across the nation.”
In truth, Padilla’s measure, known as the Age 21 Act, is a futile attempt to appease anti-gun groups that bolster the campaign funds of Democrats in Congress. In recent months, several courts have ruled against laws that discriminate against individuals aged 18 to 20 regarding their Second Amendment rights.
In April 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania ruled that the state law forbidding adults under 21 from applying for a carry permit is unconstitutional, as is the law banning adults that age from open carrying during an emergency. The case, Lara v. Evanchick, was filed by the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition and three private citizens.
In July 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that a Minnesota law banning 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds from carrying a concealed firearm is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. In the case Worth v. Jacobson, the St. Louis-based circuit court unanimously affirmed a lower court’s decision striking down the law.
Late last month, a three-judge panel of the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the federal law restricting 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds from buying handguns is unconstitutional. The case, Reese v. ATF, overturned a lower court ruling on the matter.
Also in January, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the state police from arresting law-abiding 18-20-year-old Minnesotans for openly carrying firearms during a declared state of emergency. The state law had banned carry for that age group in emergency situations.
Still, Democrats are unabashed at trying to pass legislation that will almost certainly be struck down in court eventually. The measure is cosponsored by 18 senators, all Democrats, including Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois.
“Congress cannot sit by and do nothing while gun violence remains the number one killer of children in America,” Sen. Duckworth said. “As we remember the 17 lives cut short at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, we must honor their memory with action. The Age 21 Act is common sense gun safety legislation that would help prevent mass shootings and do more to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of those who would seek to harm themselves or others. If Republicans were truly ‘pro-life,’ they would support our bill and help us save lives.”
Unsurprisingly, the Age 21 Act is endorsed by a number of anti-freedom organizations, including Brady, March for Our Lives, Giffords, Newtown Action Alliance, and Everytown for Gun Safety.
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