FOLLOW US

A federal legal storm is brewing in the Garden State, where gun rights advocates and a young would-be handgun owner are suing New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and other state law enforcement officials. Their charge: that New Jersey’s and federal law’s age-based bans on handgun ownership violate the U.S. Constitution.

Filed Monday in federal court, the complaint comes with a sharpened edge, echoing the gun debate's national tremors. Plaintiffs Lily Hague, the Second Amendment Foundation Inc., and the New Jersey Firearms Owners Syndicate argue the law unfairly targets young adults between the ages of 18 and 20, stripping them of core constitutional rights.

A Clash Between History and Modern Law

According to the lawsuit, no historical precedent from the nation’s founding justifies barring those under 21 from owning handguns. Hague, who meets every requirement for legal handgun possession except for her age, claims the ban shuts her out of rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

In the filing, she points to the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which emphasized the importance of historical analogs when evaluating gun laws. Hague asserts that young adults in early America were compelled by law to arm themselves, not barred from doing so.

Federal Law Offers a Narrow Loophole—NJ Slams It Shut

Federal rules technically allow those aged 18–20 to obtain a handgun through a private transfer from a family member who is not a federally licensed dealer, but Hague contends that this is a rare exception, not a viable solution. New Jersey’s stricter law nullifies even that faint opportunity, she adds.

“New Jersey law completely extinguishes both rights for adults under 21,” said the Second Amendment Foundation in a statement. “This case is exceedingly simple: ‘The people’ have the right to keep and bear arms. Lawmakers don’t get to cherry-pick who counts.”

The New Jersey Firearms Owners Syndicate weighed in as well, noting that while the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has already ruled in favor of gun rights in Pennsylvania, New Jersey’s stricter policies demanded a separate legal challenge.

Legal Firepower on Both Sides

The plaintiffs are represented by Shannon Garrahan of Law Offices of Shannon Garrahan PC and Raymond M. DiGuiseppe of The DiGuiseppe Law Firm PC. Information on defense counsel for Gov. Murphy, AG Bondi, or other named officials was not available as of Wednesday.

The lawsuit aims to strike down both the state and federal age-based handgun restrictions, setting the stage for a potential high-stakes courtroom battle with nationwide implications.