The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently decided that three Georgians below the age of 21 have standing to sue county probate judges over the state’s enforcement of a law disallowing the issuance of carry licenses to individuals under this age group. The case is a protest against the verdict of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia Dublin Division.
Circuit Judge Andrew L. Brasher, writing the majority opinion for the three-judge panel, upheld that the plaintiffs could take legal action against local judges instrumental in the licensing process, although they could not sue the state’s Commissioner of Public Safety. Brasher argued that the court was limited to understanding only justiciable matters, referring to the case-and-controversy clause of Article III of the Constitution. To be labeled as justiciable, certain condition must be met: the plaintiffs must hold standing, the case must be ripe, and it must not be moot. In this context, Brasher concluded that the plaintiffs have standing as they are forced to choose between carrying an unlicensed firearm, risking legal consequences, and sacrificing their constitutional rights.
Additionally, Brasher asserted that plaintiffs have standing regardless of whether they attempted to procure a carry license, as they do not need to lodge a formal application—deemed a “futile gesture”—to experience an injury-in-fact. He also agreed that the judges are liable for issuing licenses since it is a “ministerial duty” assigned to them by legislation, and not a part of their judicial duties. Therefore, he deemed the case as ripe for consideration and not moot, and sent it back to the lower court for future proceedings.
According to Georgia law, anyone under 21 years of age is immediately ineligible to receive a carry license, unless they are active-duty or honorably discharged military members. The plaintiffs believe that this law infringes their Second Amendment rights and are seeking a declaration that the age restriction is unconstitutional. However, the district court dismissed the case earlier, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue both the judges and the commissioner.
This is not the sole recent appellate court ruling concerning carry licenses. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit overturned Pennsylvania’s laws earlier this year that effectively barred individuals aged between 18 and 20 from possessing firearms during a state of emergency. Also, in January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overruled a previous order that permitted a Californian law, which rendered concealed carry permit holders incapable of bearing firearms in most public places, to come to effect.