FPC, NRA Ask Court to Halt Pennsylvania's Under-21 Carry License Ban

Firearms Policy Coalition and the National Rifle Association asked a federal judge on November 2, 2026, to stop Pennsylvania from refusing carry licenses to adults aged 18 to 20. Their motion in Maines v. Bethel, No. 2:26-cv-08301 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, seeks a preliminary injunction against the age requirement in 18 Pa.C.S. section 6109(b) or summary judgment for the plaintiffs.

The complaint, filed October 29, names Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel and Pennsylvania State Police Acting Commissioner George L. Bivens as defendants. Lead plaintiff Daniel Maines is a Philadelphia resident between 18 and 20 with no criminal record, eligible to possess firearms and a member of both groups. He would apply for a license if the state allowed it, the complaint says.

Section 6109(b) lets “an individual who is 21 years of age or older” apply to a sheriff, or to the police commissioner in Philadelphia, for a license to carry a firearm concealed or in a vehicle. Carrying in a vehicle or concealed without a license is a felony of the third degree under section 6106(a), punishable by up to seven years in prison, and section 6108 bars carrying on Philadelphia’s public streets without a license.

Without a license, the plaintiffs say, young adults cannot carry a loaded handgun in a car, cannot carry in Philadelphia, and cannot use the state-license exception to the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, which bars firearms within 1,000 feet of school grounds. The complaint counts more than 2,900 elementary and secondary schools in Pennsylvania. It also cites FBI data showing Philadelphia County reported 13,047 violent crimes during 2025, nearly 44 percent of the state total of 29,831.

The motion rests on Lara v. Commissioner Pennsylvania State Police, the 2025 Third Circuit decision that struck down Pennsylvania’s ban on open carry by 18-to-20-year-olds during declared emergencies and held that those adults are “presumptively among ‘the people’” the Second Amendment protects. On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court denied Pennsylvania’s petition for review. The plaintiffs also cite Worth v. Jacobson, the Eighth Circuit’s 2024 ruling that voided Minnesota’s 21-year-old minimum for carry permits, and Reese v. ATF, the Fifth Circuit’s 2025 ruling against the federal ban on handgun sales to buyers under 21.

“Pennsylvania has already lost this constitutional fight twice in the Third Circuit, and the Supreme Court refused to bail it out,” FPC President Brandon Combs said in the group’s November 2 statement. The motion asks the court to waive or set a nominal injunction bond. Separately, the complaint asks the court to bar the State Police from running the Pennsylvania Instant Check System in a way that blocks licenses for 18-to-20-year-olds, and it seeks attorney’s fees.

The case docket listed only the plaintiffs’ filings as of November 3, 2026, with no hearing date set, and the next step is the defendants’ response to the motion.