Laws imposing minimum age requirements for the possession and purchase of firearms are intended to decrease access to firearms by young people and, correspondingly, to decrease the number of suicides, homicides, and unintentional shootings among that population. Given that young people are at elevated risk of engaging in violent behaviors against themselves or others, these laws have the potential to protect a particularly vulnerable group.

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A robust body of academic literature shows that the human brain continues to develop well past the age of 21, particularly in areas that may alter a person’s likelihood of involvement in violence against themselves or others.

This study explores the ethics of raising the minimum age for buying and owning guns in  the United States to 21. The authors discuss the nature of gun rights, argue against the  idea that raising the minimum age would unfairly limit individual liberty, and highlight the potential harm that minimum age laws could help prevent.

In 2015, Alabama implemented Act 2015-341 (Act 341) which allowed minors to carry  guns with parental permission. This study aimed to determine the effect that Act 341 had  on firearm injury rates in the state. Researchers looked at the difference in the average  number of patients who appeared at Children’s of Alabama emergency department from  May 2011 to December 2019, before and after Act 341 was implemented. Before the Act  was implemented, an average of 2.21 children with gunshot wounds came to the hospital.  However, after the implementation, the average number of patients increased to 3.85 per 

month - a 74% increase in monthly firearm injuries. The study supports concerns that the  passage of Act 341 worsened pediatric firearm injury rates in Alabama.  

This study aimed to explore if state laws that raise the minimum age to 21 to purchase  and/or possess a handgun are associated with lower rates of firearm homicide perpetrated  by young adults aged 18 - 20. The study compared states that had and did not have  stricter minimum age laws. Results show that there was no statistically significant change  in the rates of homicide perpetrated by this age group in the 5 states (Massachusetts,  Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Wyoming) that imposed stricter age limits  compared to the other states in the study that did not. This implies that stricter state  minimum age laws were not associated with significantly lower rates of young adult perpetrated homicide in states that adopted them compared to states that did not.

There is significant variation in firearm legislation at the state level. Recently, 3 state laws were associated with a reduction in overall deaths from firearms: universal background checks for firearm purchases, universal background checks for ammunition purchases, and identification requirement for firearms. We sought to determine if stricter firearm legislation at the state level is associated with lower pediatric firearm-related mortality. A total of 21,241 children died of firearm-related injuries during the 5-year period. States with stricter gun laws had lower rates of firearm-related pediatric mortality (adjusted incident rate ratio 0.96 [0.93-0.99]).

he burden of firearm violence and death are uniquely American problems. Over 90% of firearm deaths among children and adolescents in high income countries occur in the United States. Despite similar overall crime rates, the gun homicide rate is about 25 times higher in the U.S. than other Western democracies, and 49 times higher for those aged 15-24 years. Firearm-related injuries are a leading cause of child and adolescent deaths, second only to motor vehicle crashes. Approximately 4.6 million children are living in U.S. homes with at least one loaded, unlocked firearm. Reducing gun violence injuries and deaths is imperative and requires a multifaceted approach.

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The history of U.S. firearm policy demonstrates laws in evolution from 1791-2021, regulating both gun owner rights and restrictions. These firearm policies, existing in a variety of forms in states and nationally, reveal evidence that gun safety legislation saves lives.