The Department of Justice determined that adults younger than 21 may buy handguns. Brady United Against Gun Violence chief legal officer Douglas Letter rejected the historical basis for that view.

Letter said founding-era militia service placed 18-year-olds under military rules unlike those facing civilians now. He added that younger people commit a disproportionate share of gun crimes, including mass killings, and that lawmakers should retain power to restrict that age group rather than have the Constitution bar such choices despite the evidence.

The source writer countered that militia service occupied only a small part of life and that 18-year-olds were not otherwise barred from owning firearms, arguing adulthood for voting and military service should include the right to own guns.