WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Adults under the age of 21 may soon be allowed to carry concealed firearms in Florida after the Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled that a state law preventing them from obtaining concealed-carry permits is unconstitutional, Attorney General James Uthmeier said.
In a post on X, Uthmeier said the court agreed with his office’s position that Florida’s law barring adults younger than 21 from carrying concealed firearms is unconstitutional.
In another win for the unalienable rights of Floridians, the 4th DCA agreed with our position that Florida’s law banning adults under 21 from carrying a firearm is unconstitutional.Uthmeier said his office will work with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to implement the court’s order.
The ruling stems from the case of an 18-year-old Broward County man who was convicted of carrying a concealed firearm. The appeals court found that Florida’s age restriction violates the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding adults ages 18 to 20 and vacated the man’s conviction.
In its opinion, the court ruled that adults ages 18 to 20 are part of “the people” protected by the Second Amendment and that the state failed to show a historical tradition of banning people in that age group from carrying firearms for self-defense. The court concluded that Florida’s law requiring individuals to be at least 21 years old to qualify for concealed carry is unconstitutional as applied to 18- to 20-year-olds.
The decision follows an October 2025 ruling by Broward County Circuit Judge Frank Ledee, who found that Florida’s prohibition on concealed carry by 18- to 20-year-olds violated the Second Amendment. Ledee dismissed a concealed-carry charge against a 19-year-old defendant, though the ruling applied only to that case unless upheld by a higher court.
The lawsuit challenged a provision of Florida’s permitless-carry law that prohibits adults younger than 21 from legally carrying concealed firearms. Gun-rights advocates argued the restriction infringed on the constitutional rights of legal adults.
The issue has drawn criticism from gun-control advocates, who argue that allowing 18- to 20-year-olds to carry concealed firearms would weaken gun-safety measures enacted in Florida after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
The appellate court’s ruling is not yet final and could be subject to rehearing or further appeal.