Mississippi senator co-sponsors bill to lower age restriction on handgun purchases to 18

Published 3:49 pm Tuesday, April 27, 2021

U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.)  joined Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) in introducing legislation that would allow adults between the ages of 18 and 20 to purchase a handgun from a federally-licensed dealer.

The Second Amendment Mandates Equality Act of 2021 would repeal the law that currently prohibits people under the age of 21 from buying a handgun. The bill was co-sponsored by a number of Republican senators, including Montana’s Steve Daines, Idaho’s Mike Crapo and Jim Risch and North Dakota’s Kevin Cramer.

“The right to keep and bear all firearms is a fundamental right that should not be restricted by the federal government,” Hyde-Smith said in a news release. “This legislation would repeal the arbitrary restriction for citizens between 18 and 20 years old from purchasing a handgun.”

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

The senators argued that people age 18 to 20 are considered adults and can get married, serve in the military and form business contracts, therefore, they should have the right to buy a handgun.

“The Second Amendment is a constitutional right, and does not treat 18-year-olds as second-class adults,” Lummis said. “In keeping with the Supreme Court’s Heller decision, the SAME Act would overturn our current restrictive anti-handgun statute and ensure equal treatment under law for adults under 21.”

“Ultimately, if we trust 18-year-olds enough to defend our country and to choose our elected officials, we should trust them enough to purchase a handgun,” Lummis said.

The SAME Act is supported by Gun Owners of America and the National Association for Gun Rights.