As President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reviews federal agencies and departments to identify billions of dollars in wasted tax money, a Senate Democrat is seeking to waste even more by introducing unconstitutional legislation with little chance of passing.
On Friday, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, announced legislation aiming to increase the minimum age for purchasing so-called “assault weapons”—common semi-automatic rifles owned and used by millions of law-abiding Americans—and so-called “high-capacity” ammunition magazines from 18 to 21 years old.
“Seven years after a 19-year-old gunman tragically took the lives of 17 students and faculty in Parkland, we’re still seeing far too many preventable mass shootings at the hands of deadly assault rifles,” Sen. Padilla said in a news release announcing the measure.“If you can’t legally buy a handgun, there’s no reason you should be able to buy a military-grade weapon. This commonsense legislation would raise the minimum age to purchase or carry an assault weapon or high-capacity ammunition from 18 to 21—the same standard already in place for purchasing handguns—helping to curb the gun violence epidemic that continues to devastate communities in California and across the nation.”
In truth, Padilla’s measure, known as the Age 21 Act, is a futile attempt to appease anti-gun groups that bolster the campaign funds of Democrats in Congress. In recent months, several courts have ruled against laws that discriminate against individuals aged 18 to 20 regarding their Second Amendment rights.
In April 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania ruled that the state law forbidding adults under 21 from applying for a carry permit is unconstitutional, as is the law banning adults that age from open carrying during an emergency. The case, Lara v. Evanchick, was filed by the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition and three private citizens.
In July 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that a Minnesota law banning 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds from carrying a concealed firearm is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. In the case Worth v. Jacobson, the St. Louis-based circuit court unanimously affirmed a lower court’s decision striking down the law.
Late last month, a three-judge panel of the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the federal law restricting 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds from buying handguns is unconstitutional. The case, Reese v. ATF, overturned a lower court ruling on the matter.
Also in January, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the state police from arresting law-abiding 18-20-year-old Minnesotans for openly carrying firearms during a declared state of emergency. The state law had banned carry for that age group in emergency situations.
Still, Democrats are unabashed at trying to pass legislation that will almost certainly be struck down in court eventually. The measure is cosponsored by 18 senators, all Democrats, including Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois.
“Congress cannot sit by and do nothing while gun violence remains the number one killer of children in America,” Sen. Duckworth said. “As we remember the 17 lives cut short at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, we must honor their memory with action. The Age 21 Act is common sense gun safety legislation that would help prevent mass shootings and do more to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of those who would seek to harm themselves or others. If Republicans were truly ‘pro-life,’ they would support our bill and help us save lives.”
Unsurprisingly, the Age 21 Act is endorsed by a number of anti-freedom organizations, including Brady, March for Our Lives, Giffords, Newtown Action Alliance, and Everytown for Gun Safety.
make it 25 unless they have a note from their mom.
Remember, age is just a number!
“The gunman in the deadliest school shooting in Texas history bought two AR-style rifles legally just after his 18th birthday — days before his assault on Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.”
And?
And the bass turd shot his grandma. And Uvalde cops were cowards. No bueno🙄
If no gunz until 21, then no voting until 21. See how Dems feel about that. Think about how many people died and how many lives were destroyed (at home and abroad) because a senile puppet occupied the White House for a full term. Begin with Ukraine and work your way back. Elections have consequences.
And no draft until 21, in fact no draft until you receive social security. Let the boomer marine seal berets fight the damn wars they want so bad but missed theirs in canada.
“what is your logical fallacy?”
Fallacy and intentional derogatory term aside, he has a point.
It’s been pointed out publicly since the Greeks and Romans that there’s a tendency for cranky old people start wars, but it is always the young men that fight those wars. This has long been considered unreasonable in that those starting the war have little or no skin in the game that they’re essentially forcing other people into.
Now, back in the day, it was considered more appropriate to direct this criticism at the specific political leaders in question. Today, it’s more generalized.
Is that fair? No, but everything is generalized/tribalized these days thanks to the media. For instance, all the “kIdZ dEz DayZ” bullshit from self-proclaimed “Boomers” on the web isn’t exactly fair either. It also glosses over numerous modern issues that basically didn’t exist until post-2000.
Like it or not, the generational warfare fight was picked on all our behalf, and it’s not going to stop because someone won an election. It’s been ongoing so long that it’s the default reaction for a goodly percentage of people from 16-85.
Funny how things go from synthetic to organic when the propaganda gets into your brain. Which it has for the vast majority regardless of age.
Stopping that has kinda been my point for years now. But it mostly falls on deaf ears, because lighting someone up for [reasons] that were implanted into you without your knowledge or consent just FEELS good, which is why the manipulation is effective and why it’s so damn dangerous.
But fuck me for talking about facts and logic and shit in a world where basically everyone should be wearing a Dashboard Confessional shirt while lying about their attire.
“the manipulation is effective and why it’s so damn dangerous”
Mangione and his supporters come to mind.
Mangione and his supporters come to mind.
Valid.
You do have to appreciate the game though. Damn, is it slick.
Practically everyone gets got and the people that say they didn’t are lying… to themselves or are over 70 and lived in the USSR long enough to see the game instantly when it’s presented.
I wasn’t in canada.
erik is another whining pup that didn’t ask to be born.
“Begin with Ukraine“
Yes, marching to Trump’s disinformation, are you a professional apologist for the he-man dictators club?
Only one individual is responsible for the Ukrainian invasion and that is Vladimir Putin.
Oh boy reality isn’t going to be kind to you there. I give it a week before this statement is shown to be largely nonsense.
Wasn’t that you recently complaining about straw man arguments? Yep, it was. Point to where I said Putin was or wasn’t responsible for anything, Mr. Strawman. Biden being our puppet president is responsible for the death and destruction in Ukraine. I stand by that.
You cheered for an unwinnable war. You helped to elect the senile puppet. You’re also responsible for the death and destruction. Responsible people would have done everything in their power to avoid war when they were on the brink of an invasion. Instead, those idiots poked the bear (because they wanted the war). Then, once it happened, responsible people would have done everything in their power to bring about a peace agreement. Your guys did the exact opposite of what responsible people would have done. They lied to you about it being a winnable war. The point was always to degrade Russia and spend money.
Launder money. The big guy got his.
Dude:
You guys realize that the account in question says whatever is convenient in the argument at any given point in time with zero concern for the current statements being in line or out of line with prior statements within the same argument or other arguments, right? [This is part of why I’ve pondered in the past if that’s even a person.]
This is part and parcel of its argument that arbitrarily re-defining words is acceptable because language evolves.
It’s about the argument in the moment and nothing else. Consistency, logical cohesion principles etc. need not apply.
I mean, it wasn’t that long ago that this account was arguing for abortion being unrestricted because of the Talmud…
If you’re not just toying with it for the lulz, the interaction isn’t worth your time. At best, you’re arguing with a wetware version of an old ChatGPT release.
Yes. I noticed that a long time ago. It’s about saying anything to try and win the moment. Sparring with Miner is basically a hobby at this point.
Also handy to see what the latest talking points are if you don’t have time to watch the news. Typically gets me prepared for the talking points for the next day at work.
I check in at Daily Kos every now and then to get a feel for how they’re thinking. It’s very sad.
You could sign up for those mailing lists I’ve put up here a few times.
They’ll send how they’re thinking and exactly what they intend straight to your inbox.
Fair warning the ones in the Northeast are a bit dark.
Empty appeals to emotion belong on R3dd17.
They aren’t well received in rational spaces.
miner. You just recently pointed out that the constitution does not mention age.
I realize you’re a paid troll. But being a little consistent will make your cover story a little better.
Not a paid troll, sorry to disappoint.
I understand in your world that sort of deceptive behavior is SOP but not for me.
You are correct, many of the BOR do not mention age, the constitution leaves that sort of thing to Congress to work out.
You do all this nonsense for free? You are either a sucker or some flavor of mentally ill…….. yes there is a lot of potential for both but trying to be optimistic for you.
if i ever come across a mentally ill flavored sucker i’m gonna wanna try that. in the meanwhile i’m stickin’ wit pencil shavings and heartbreak.
THC gummies, probably available in most jurisdictions nowadays…
That reminds me of the kid down south (way south) who injected himself with a solution made with powdered butterfly carcass. They think it was because of some tik tok dare or the like. I forget where I read about it. Bad way to go.
Of course you’re not miner. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more.
BS. You are a paid troll.
then lower the age to 8.that’s when I started shooting rats at the town dump.
I understand the gun grabbers want to lower the age of consent down to 12 or 8 years old.
At one time a 16 year old could buy a gun on their own.
LOL, that made me laugh tsbhoa.p.jr
I had good handwriting at a young age. I forged a few notes from mom for some classmates. That’s all it took back then.
sporting goods store in northern ‘burbs only sold wrist rockets to those with a note.
F*ck this guy.
atavistic,
No need to be so angry with U.S. Senator Padilla since his legislation, if it becomes law, will not actually prevent anyone under the age of 21 from buying a rifle: any 18 year-old who wants to buy a rifle could simply tell the seller that he/she identifies as a 21 year-old and is therefore fully entitled to purchase the rifle. Problem solved.
In case you did not yet drink your morning beverage and your brain is not yet firing on all cylinders, here is the justification of my assertion above: if a man can “identify” as a woman and demand all of the rights and privileges of a woman, then an 18 year-old can “identify” as a 21 year-old and is therefore entitled to all of the rights and privileges of a 21 year-old.
Lets add a rider to this law that makes the voting age the same age as buying a semiautomatic rifle or handgun.
As an American taxpayer; I approve of this message.
Yep!
They’d probably go along with it since the younger voters are abandoning them.
Their electorate is mental patients, Karens, the churchies and grifters being led around by such luminaries as the cast of the View, Dick Cheney, and Mitch McConnell.
They’re trapped in the era of Bush Jr. except this time they’re the neocons.
……. they always were if they bothered to look at the policies.
Not just voting but also signing contracts. Let’s see how fast the credit card and cell service providers start making noise.
Never satisfied. This year 21 next year 25 and so on.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, and those like him are all losers just like the states they represent.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, speaks about “common sense” when in reality and if the truth be known he and his kind would not recognize common sense if it slapped them sky west and a winding.
Its this kind of stupid that contributed to the democrats downfall in the recent election.
anyway…WOW! US Senators Seek To Raise Age To 21 For Firearms.
h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvyvowMOMRU
Senators Tell The ATF To Cut Out The BS!
h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UKEzl80vPs
Because criminals by their nature do wrong is no excuse to hold millions of lawabiding citizens liable. Just another stinking Gun Control democRat who rides on the coattails of unarmed victims.
in Russia 21 to have pushka
so-called “assault weapons”
so-called “high-capacity” ammunition magazines
I appreciate the author’s attempt to pull back on deceptive and manipulative made-up Progressive labeling.
I recommend that all of us replace “so-called” with “nonsense concocted term”.
For example, instead of saying/typing:
—- so-called “assault weapons”
We should say/type:
—- nonsense concocted term “assault weapons”
Thus, back to the author’s original sentence:
… legislation aiming to increase the minimum age for purchasing so-called “assault weapons”—common semi-automatic rifles owned and used by millions of law-abiding Americans …
It is far more accurate and illustrative if we retype that as:
… legislation aiming to increase the minimum age for purchasing the nonsense concocted term “assault weapons”—common semi-automatic rifles owned and used by millions of law-abiding Americans …
Anything can be an assualt weapon and the Second Amendment isn’t about hunting.
No it is supposed to be for express purpose of We The People possessing assault weapons.
Somewhere along the way Shall Not Be Infringed got infringed.
“If you can’t legally buy a handgun, there’s no reason you should be able to buy ….”
So, immediately remove the unconstitutional age 21 restriction for handgun purchase restriction.
I get a kick out of these groups that use “for gun safety ‘” or March for our lives etc. NO gun safety has been taught by these groups,in fact the opposite has happened. The Gifford’s should use the kick back money and hold backyard gun safety classes.
Add a rider, all democrat politicians will have their genitals removed to prevent rape.
Funny how the party that always uses the term “commonsense” is full of nothing but nonsense.
They want kids to be able to mutilate their bodies, and claim to be another gender, but no buying those nasty guns until you are 21!
And a 1000 other 18yr olds have bought “Assult Rifles” and have done nothing more than plink, hunt and defend themselves with the rifles. And how many other 18yr olds have joined the militay and used our paid for machine guns to defend our country.
Mexican M̶a̶r̶x̶i̶s̶t̶ ̶S̶o̶c̶i̶a̶l̶i̶s̶t̶ ̶N̶a̶r̶c̶o̶-̶Q̶u̶e̶e̶n̶ President Stands Up for Drug Cartels, Threatens More Anti-Gun Lawfare.
h ttps://www.shootingnewsweekly.com/law/mexican-president-stands-up-for-drug-cartels-threatens-more-anti-gun-lawfare/
Excellent article.
For Padilla, it is not appeasement. He is a true believer. He was just as anti-gun when he was in the California Legislature. (He moved to Congress because he was termed out and needed a new job.)
“Seven years after a 19-year-old gunman tragically took the lives of 17 students and faculty in Parkland, we’re still seeing far too many preventable mass shootings at the hands of deadly assault rifles,” Sen. Padilla said in a news release announcing the measure.
Notice how he doesn’t provide any data to back up his claim. That’s because the data would show how absurd his assertion is so he conveniently leaves it out. What a tool.
I am sick of teen drivebys – ban cars. End internet porn – 10 day wait on smart phones, with deep background checks and psych evals. Ibuprofen and aspirin are gateway drugs. Ban them too.
Riding off into the sunset now – clipclopclipclop. No point in trying to call me.
Nonesense red meat for the base, the inverse of the GOPer who introduced Constitutional Carry in Colorado yesterday.
That’s good news.
Colorado used to be one of my favorite states.
Now, maybe he can convince the voters to vote for liberty? Someone has to at least try.
When your position is, and long has been, that you’re willing to trade away everyone’s freedom, and massively empower .gov to do things it has no authority to do, for the illusion of safety from [buzzword], speak not to me of liberty.
Idiiot Senator proving they know nothing about guns. Most of the population cannot afford an ‘assault rifle’. They are heavily regulated. She is proposing a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist.
They are fine with letting them join the military at 18, But any other thing they are “underage”, When are they a Adult? Padilla is a Tool
Imagine the outrage if someone proposed a bill to raise the voting age to 21. Or the age of sexual consent to 21.