The United States Supreme Court has allowed 18- to 20-year-old young adults to apply for and receive a Minnesota Permit to Carry after refusing to take up Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s appeal on April 21, 2025, ending litigation in the Worth v. Jacobson case.
It’s a resounding victory for the Second Amendment rights of young adults in Minnesota.
Minnesota law prevented adults under the age of 21 from applying for a carry license, which made it a crime for peaceable adults to carry firearms in public for self-defense and lawful purposes. The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) challenged this law in a federal lawsuit, resulting in victory at the district court level as well as a unanimous Eighth Circuit decision.
This case was initially titled Worth v. Harrington, but the case was retitled Worth v. Jacobson after Bob Jacobson replaced John Harrington as Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety in 2023.
When the United States Supreme Court declined to hear Minnesota’s petition for review, it left in place the lower courts’ decisions and allows the injunctions against the law to take effect. Now, a permanent injunction prevents the State of Minnesota from enforcing the age-based carry ban.
An FPC statement said the federal district and appellate court decisions properly applyied the law and relevant history to hold that 18-to-20-year-olds are part of “the People” under the Second Amendment and as such have a right to carry firearms outside the home.
FPC President Brandon Combs said, “We are delighted that our win against Minnesota can now take effect and restore the right to bear arms for peaceable adults in Minnesota and throughout the Eighth Circuit.”
Said Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack, “This ruling will have reverberations nationwide, where SAF is involved in multiple similar suits, seeking to restore the rights of young adults who face similarly unconstitutional laws in their home states.”
Originally filed in June 2021 as Worth v. Harrington, the plaintiffs were the Second Amendment Foundation, the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, Firearms Policy Coalition, and three private citizens, Kristin Worth, for whom the case is named, Austin Dye, and Axel Anderson. They are represented by attorneys David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson, John D. Ohlendorf and William V. Bergstrom at Cooper & Kirk in Washington, D.C.
“The cert denial confirms what we’ve said all along — the Second Amendment is not limited to those 21-years-old and above,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “We are cautiously optimistic the denial will have a positive impact in SAF’s challenges to similar bans in other states. Our goal is to remove any impediments for adults – no matter their age – to exercise their Second Amendment rights wherever they live.”
Young adults between 18 and 20 years old can now apply for a Permit to Carry from their county sheriff.
In this case, the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus and other plaintiffs sued the State of Minnesota and three county sheriffs to restore the right of adults under 21 years of age to carry loaded, operable arms in public for self-defense and other lawful purposes.
On March 31, 2023, the gun-rights supporters prevailed with U.S. District Judge Kathleen Menendez, striking down Minnesota’s limits on 18-20-year-olds from obtaining permits. This judgment was issued with immediate effect. Later that day, the State filed an emergency request for a stay of the ruling to consider an appeal and “implement systems” that would allow them to issue permits.
The State of Minnesota appealed in April 2023 to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. On July 16, 2024, the Eight Circuit ruled 3-0 in favor of the gun-rights supporters and permanently enjoined the State of Minnesota from enforcing the 21-year-old age limit.
On July 30, 2024, the State of Minnesota appealed the case, asking for an en banc (whole court) rehearing of the case by the Eighth Circuit. On August 21, 2024, the Eighth Circuit denied their motion. On September 20, 2024, the Eighth Circuit issued the mandate, ending the case at the Eighth Circuit.
The State of Minnesota petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear this case on appeal on January 17, 2025. The United States Supreme Court refused to take up the appeal on Monday, April 21, ending the litigation.
