Minn. AG Keith Ellison asks appeals court to review state's age limit for carrying handguns in public

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison wants the full Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to examine the state's age limit for publicly carrying handguns after a three-judge panel ruled it unconstitutional this month.

The panel's July 16 ruling made it the first federal circuit court to reject a "general age-based gun regulation," Ellison's office said Tuesday in a 25-page petition to the circuit. The decision could have broader implications for similar restrictions in 30 states and the District of Columbia.

In asking for a wider court review, Ellison argued that the three-judge panel failed to account for the Supreme Court's June decision in United States v. Rahimi upholding the constitutionality of state laws restricting domestic abusers from possessing firearms. Ellison pointed out that the panel issued its opinion in Minnesota's open carry lawsuit without allowing briefing from either side on how the Rahimi decision affected the litigation.

In a statement Tuesday, Ellison said that the court "reached the wrong conclusion on the facts and the history," especially given the recent high court ruling in Rahimi. He described Tuesday's petition as "the next logical step in attempting to reverse the panel's decision."

"The public safety benefits to banning open carry by people under 21 years of age are clear," Ellison said. "As long as I am your Attorney General, Minnesota will defend lifesaving, common-sense, gun-safety laws."

The lawsuit challenging Minnesota's open-carry age restrictions dates back to 2021, when three gun-rights advocacy groups and three young adults sued Minnesota's public safety commissioner and the sheriffs of the plaintiffs' respective counties — Douglas, Mille Lacs and Washington — arguing that the age restrictions violated their Second Amendment rights.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez — a 2021 appointee of President Joe Biden sided with the plaintiffs in a ruling last year that turned on recent Supreme Court guidance that governments seeking to limit gun rights must show that their laws are "consistent with this Nation's historical tradition of firearms regulation."

The Eighth Circuit panel this month agreed with Menendez's opinion that Minnesota had not demonstrated that its age restriction was consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearms regulation, a precedent established in the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling striking down New York's ban on carrying guns in public.

Reacting to the Eighth Circuit panel decision earlier this month, Ellison also criticized the decision in that case, known as New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, saying the court is responsible for "opening the floodgates to litigation from gun advocacy groups looking to undo reasonable safety legislation."

Minnesota explained that its carry ban was in place because 18- to 20-year-olds are not competent to make responsible decisions with guns and pose a risk of being dangerous to themselves and to others as a result. But Judge Duane Benton wrote in the panel's July 16 ruling that Minnesota failed to support that claim with enough evidence.

The opinion included an order sending the case back to Menendez to formally invalidate the state's ability to bar adults younger than 21 from applying for permits to carry handguns. Menendez last year stayed a ruling that would have immediately prevented Minnesota from imposing such restrictions until the appeals process was exhausted.

At least one Minnesota sheriff has since sought to update residents on the lawsuit's implications for the permit process in their county. Blue Earth County Sheriff Jeff Wersal issued a news release Tuesday noting that while his office has received multiple permit to carry applications from people younger than 21, the age restriction is still effective because Ellison's appeal is ongoing.

"The Sheriff's Office intends to send updates but is asking those under 21-years-old to be patient and await the conclusion of the court case before applying for a permit," Wersal said.