Texas judge overturns state ban on young adults carrying guns

First major ruling since US supreme court's landmark decision on weapons rights says state ban unconstitutional

A federal judge in Texas has thrown out the state's ban on people aged 18 to 20 carrying handguns in what appears to be the first major judicial decision since a landmark ruling on weapons rights by the US supreme court in June.

The challenge to the Texas statute that bans young adults not in active military service from having handguns in public was filed in 2021 by the Firearms Policy Coalition, a gun owners' rights group. The group said the ban violated the US constitution's second amendment, which says states can organize militias and that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed".