Georgia Supreme Court hearing challenge to state’s ban on adults under 21 carrying handguns

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The Supreme Court of Georgia is hearing the case next week of a north Georgia man challenging the state’s prohibition on adults under the age of 21 from obtaining a license to carry a handgun in public.

Thomas Stephens, a Lumpkin County resident, along with Georgia 2nd Amendment, originally sued the state in February 2023 after being denied a weapons carry license because he was under 21 and not a member of the military.

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The Georgia Attorney General’s Office filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing the limitation is “a reasonable, non-arbitrary regulation that does not destroy the right to bear arms.”

The trial court granted the state’s motion to dismiss, agreeing the statute was a reasonable exercise of police power.

Stephens and Georgia 2nd Amendment then appealed. The organization would later withdraw from the case.

Stephens is continuing to argue the state Supreme Court should overturn its decisions in past cases “holding that the Georgia right to keep and bear arms is subject only to a ‘reasonable exercise of police power’ test.”