SAF Files Response Brief with Supreme Court in Pennsylvania 18-20 Carry Case
Posted on: Aug 13, 2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. — Aug. 13, 2025 — Attorneys representing the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed a response brief with the U.S. Supreme Court encouraging the justices to consider the case, in a challenge to Pennsylvania state law which prohibits adults under 21 years of age from carrying firearms during a declared state of emergency.
Joining SAF in the case, Madison Lara v. Commissioner Pennsylvania State Police, are the Firearms Policy Coalition and three individuals.
“In a unique twist, we agree with the state that the case should be heard by the High Court,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “The benefit of having the Supreme Court take the case is that the Court could finally and conclusively establish that 18-20-year-olds are members of ‘the People’ who have the same Second Amendment rights as other adults. The Third Circuit has reached this conclusion on two separate occasions, yet the state simply refuses to acquiesce and continues to spend taxpayer dollars to fight a losing battle.”
Originally filed in 2021, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled twice in SAF’s favor. After the initial ruling, the state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court which, in turn, remanded the case back to the Third Circuit to reconsider in light of the high court’s ruling in Rahimi. The Third Circuit determined that Rahimi changed nothing about their analysis and once again ruled for the plaintiffs. The circuit court then ordered the district court to enter an injunction in SAF’s favor. After being denied en banc review, the state has once again petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case.
“Second Amendment rights apply to all adults, regardless of age,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Adults who are 18-20 years old are certainly part of ‘the People’ and are therefore afforded the same constitutional rights as those 21 and older. As noted in our response brief, we are asking the Supreme Court to answer the question once and for all – do 18-20-year-olds have the same Second Amendment rights as other American adults? We think the answer is unequivocally a resounding ‘yes’.”
For more information visit SAF.org.
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.
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