BELLEVUE, Wash. — Oct. 28, 2025 — The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed a reply brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. ATF, SAF’s challenge to the federal ban that prevents adults under 21 years old from purchasing handguns from licensed dealers. The brief was filed in response to the government’s request to delay Brown until two other Second Amendment cases recently granted certiorari are heard by the High Court.
The two cases granted cert are Wolford v. Lopez and United States v. Hemani. The Wolford lawsuit challenges Hawaii’s so called “vampire rule,” which switches the presumption of lawful carry in private places open to the public. In Hemani, the case contests federal law that bans firearm possession by users of illegal drugs, including marijuana, which is still illegal federally despite being decriminalized in multiple states. SAF has filed an amicus brief in support of Wolford and has a case challenging the ban of medical marijuana users from purchasing firearms in Greene v. Bondi.
“It’s notable that the government isn’t asking for the Supreme Court to accept or deny the case, only to hold it over until two other recently accepted cases can be heard,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “The problem with that is those two cases have absolutely nothing to do with the basis for our challenge whatsoever. We are asking the Court to once and for all determine that adults under the age of 21 are part of ‘the People,’ just like the Fifth Circuit has already ruled. The outcome of the other two cases granted cert recently will have no bearing on Brown v. ATF, and there should be no delay in the High Court deciding if it will hear our case.”
SAF is representing the plaintiffs in the case, and the brief urges the Court to grant certiorari in Brown, citing a circuit split on the issue which has created a disjointed application of the law depending on geographic region. The Fifth Circuit struck down the law earlier this year in SAF’s Reese v. ATF case, while the Fourth Circuit upheld it in Brown v. ATF. Joining SAF in the case are the West Virginia Citizens Defense League and a private citizen, Alec La Neve.
“This is merely a delay tactic by the government so they can continue to disenfranchise 18-20-year-olds from exercising their full Second Amendment rights,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “We hope the High Court sees through this thinly veiled gun-control tactic and will allow the case to move forward.”
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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