BELLEVUE, Wash. — Dec. 22, 2025 — Attorneys representing the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed a reply brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in PWGG v. Bonta (formerly Jones v. Bonta), SAF’s challenge to California’s firearms purchase ban for adults under 21 years old.
In California, 18-20-year-olds are completely banned from purchasing handguns and semiautomatic centerfire rifles of any type and can only purchase shotguns and bolt-action rifles after they first acquire a hunting license (even if they have no desire to hunt). Originally filed in 2019, the lawsuit challenges this purchase ban as every peaceable adult in America has the right to acquire, possess and carry a firearm for self-defense.
“There’s no constitutional justification that permits California lawmakers to ration its residents’ fundamental rights incrementally over time,” said SAF Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. “American adults, regardless of their age, enjoy the full collection of rights recognized by the Constitution. The ratification of those rights prevents exactly the type of codswallop evident here: a runaway legislature that thinks it knows better than the people it serves.”
SAF is joined in the case by the Firearms Policy Coalition and California Gun Rights Foundation, along with two licensed firearms dealers and shooting ranges – Poway Weapons and Gear and North County Shooting Center.
“Lawmakers in California see the Second Amendment as a second-class right – at best – and they’ll take every opportunity they can dream up to disarm residents in the state,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The practice of restricting 18-to-20-year-olds from accessing the commercial market for firearms is absurd and should be struck down. This case has continued for six years, and it is high time the idealogues in the state stop wasting taxpayer money challenging a constitutional right that applies to all adults, regardless of age.”
For more information visit SAF.org.
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.
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