On June 17, 2026, a three-judge panel from Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal unanimously struck down the state’s long-standing ban on 18- to 20-year-olds carrying concealed firearms.
The decision effectively overturns a core piece of Florida’s gun restrictions that dates all the way back to 1987.
Key Details of the Ruling:
- The Constitutional Argument: The court ruled that the age restriction violates the Second Amendment. Writing for the panel, Judge Spencer D. Levine noted that 18- to 20-year-olds are legal adults who can defend the country in the military without restriction, so limiting their right to public concealed carry is facially unconstitutional.
- No Defense from the State: The legal path to this ruling was unique because Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier explicitly declined to defend the law in court, agreeing with the challenges that the age restriction was unconstitutional under recent U.S. Supreme Court precedents (like the Bruen decision).
- The Shift in Florida Gun Laws: This ruling follows a massive wave of deregulation in the state over the last few years. It comes on the heels of Florida adopting permitless concealed carry in 2023, and a separate appeals court ruling in late 2025 that effectively struck down the state’s historic ban on open carry.
Important Distinction: This ruling specifically handles carrying a concealed weapon for self-defense. It does not automatically change the 2018 post-Parkland law that blocks under-21 adults from purchasing rifles and long guns from licensed dealers, though that law is also currently facing intense legislative and legal challenges.
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