Court finds California's under-21 gun sales restrictions unconstitutional

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday ruled that California's ban on selling semiautomatic weapons to people under 21 is unconstitutional.

The panel of 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judges ruled 2-1 that the law violates the right to bear arms under the 2nd Amendment, The Associated Press reported.

The court also wrote that a San Diego judge should have blocked "an almost total ban on semiautomatic centerfire rifles" for adults under 21.

“America would not exist without the heroism of the young adults who fought and died in our revolutionary army,” Judge Ryan Nelson, a Trump appointee, wrote in his ruling for Jones v. Bonta.

"Today we reaffirm that our Constitution still protects the right that enabled their sacrifice: the right of young adults to keep and bear arms," he added.

The Firearms Policy Coalition, which brought the case forward, celebrated the win and said it looks forward to other age-based gun laws being challenged across the nation.

"Today’s decision confirms that peaceable legal adults cannot be prohibited from acquiring firearms and exercising their rights enshrined in the Second Amendment," FPC Vice President of Programs Adam Kraut said in a press release.

California Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta did not respond to AP's request for comment by time of publication.