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Ban on selling handguns to young adults under 21 is unconstitutional, Justice Department says

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Cite

Richer, A. D. (2026, September 18). Ban on selling handguns to young adults under 21 is unconstitutional, Justice Department says. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/world/united-states/ban-on-selling-handguns-to-young-adults-under-21-is-unconstitutional-justice-department-says/article_d5bd48ef-abce-57eb-b67d-5636da42afb9.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-09-18 · by Alanna Durkin Richer

Quick Summary

The Justice Department issued an opinion stating that a federal law prohibiting licensed firearm dealers from selling handguns to individuals aged 18 to 20 is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. This decision, from the Office of Legal Counsel under the Trump administration, asserts that the ban infringes on Second Amendment rights. The opinion also notes that the Justice Department will neither defend nor enforce this law in light of conflicting court rulings following a significant Supreme Court ruling on firearms legislation.
Written by AI on 2026-09-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 19, 2026, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel issued a legal opinion stating that federal laws prohibiting licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to young adults aged 18-20 are unconstitutional due to Second Amendment violations. Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser concluded that these individuals should not face criminal penalties for purchasing such weapons as they are considered fully capable in other respects, including voting and serving on juries. The opinion does not repeal the statutes but directs the executive branch not to enforce them criminally, potentially signaling support for young adult plaintiffs seeking firearms access. This move aligns with broader Trump administration efforts to roll back firearm regulations.

Written for “Gun Sales Ban Unconstitutional” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Gun Sales Ban Unconstitutional
Politics · 5 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Hindu
Hedges 2 of 12 claims Outlet record 60/100
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 3 of 22 claims Outlet record 70/100
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
Reason
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 1 of 7 claims Outlet record 67/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of firearms legislation and do not refer to the exact same legal ruling or ban.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
3
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 3 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
5
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 10443 article(s) · 27 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 27 correction(s)
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Alanna Durkin Richer
19 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 One judge at the center of the report, Patrick Schiltz, accused the government in January of ignoring roughly 100 court orders, stating in a ruling that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency within DHS, "is not a law unto itself." Schiltz, nominated by Republican President George W. Bush and a former law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, told the newspaper that the situation in Minnesota's federal court last winter "created a grave threat to the rule of law." In a Wednesday statement, Schiltz insisted he was "acting well within the ethical rules that apply to federal judges in speaking to The New York Times." He noted a February advisory opinion from the Committee on Codes of Conduct reaffirming that federal judges may speak or write "on core judiciary matters such as advocacy for the rule of law and judicial independence,'" stating: "That is exactly what I did." The complaint was delivered to the chief judge of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which supervises Minnesota federal courts. The Republican administration frequently attacks what it calls "activist judges" supposedly intent on thwarting Trump’s agenda. Yet some of the most critical and unfavorable court rulings have originated from jurists nominated by Trump and other Republican presidents.
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🔮 The opinion indicates the Trump administration will not defend or prosecute cases under the law that has been the subject of competing court rulings in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court decision that transformed the legal landscape around firearms.
Also by Alanna Durkin Richer
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 19 articles by Alanna Durkin Richer →

Topics

Office of Legal Counsel WASHINGTON the Justice Department the Justice Department’s the Second Amendment

Subjects

Office of Legal Counsel ORG · 1× Supreme Court ORG · 1× Trump PERSON · 1× WASHINGTON GPE · 1× the Justice Department ORG · 1× the Justice Department’s ORG · 1×

Narrative

The opinion indicates the Trump administration will not defend or prosecute cases under the law that has been the subject of competing court rulings in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court decision that transformed the legal landscape around firearms.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-19
🔮 The opinion indicates the Trump administration will not defend or prosecute cases under the law that has been the subject of competing court rulings in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court decision that transformed the legal landscape around firearms.

Claims (3 extracted, 0 hedged)

Federal law banning licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to young adults under age 21 is unconstitutional and can’t be enforced, the Justice Department said in a legal opinion released Friday. asserted
Department → ban → opinion
The opinion from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel says the law aimed at making it harder for 18- to 20-year-olds to get handguns violates the Second Amendment. asserted
olds → say → Amendment
The opinion indicates the Trump administration will not defend or prosecute cases under the law that has been the subject of competing court rulings in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court decision that transformed the legal landscape around firearms. asserted
that → indicate → firearms
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