Massachusetts High Court Upholds Ban on Handgun Licenses for Under-21s, 5-2
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court voted 5 to 2 to uphold the state's ban on issuing handgun licenses to people under 21, in Commonwealth v. Thomson (SJC-13856).
The majority applied the framework of the U.S. Supreme Court's Bruen decision, looking to colonial-era and early militia laws as historical analogues for age-based restrictions.
The dissent argued the historical analogy was stretched too broadly and would sustain restrictions beyond what the Second Amendment allows. The decision keeps Massachusetts's under-21 handgun licensing prohibition in force while similar age-based gun laws continue to be litigated in other states.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 马萨诸塞州约翰·亚当斯法院（波士顿（Boston））（图片：Wikimedia Commons）/ John Adams Courthouse in Boston (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
