National Rifle Association of America v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

700 F.3d 185 (2012)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
N
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

National Rifle Association of America v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
700 F.3d 185 (2012)

Facts

Through a combination of laws and regulations, the federal government enacted a system that allowed people between the ages of 18 and 21 to (1) possess a rifle or shotgun, (2) buy a rifle or shotgun from any legal source, (3) possess a handgun, (4) receive a handgun as a gift, and (5) purchase a handgun through a private sale. However, from studies conducted in the 1960s, Congress had evidence that (1) giving 18- to 20-year-olds easy access to handguns increased crime and gun violence and (2) this age group mostly obtained handguns from federally licensed firearms dealers. Therefore, in order to try to reduce crime and violence, the regulatory system prohibited people between the ages of 18 and 21 from being able to purchase handguns from licensed dealers. The National Rifle Association of America, Inc. and a group of 18- to 20-year-olds (plaintiffs) sued federal agencies that enforced the system (defendants), claiming that this regulatory system violated the Second Amendment. The district court denied the claim, and the matter was appealed to the Fifth Circuit.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Prado, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 805,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Constitutional Law
Criminal Law

Key Terms