Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today led a coalition of 18 attorneys general filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit urging that court to affirm a lower court’s decision upholding California’s law regulating the purchase of long guns by individuals under the age of 21.

In their brief, Raoul and the coalition explain that the Second Amendment gives states the ability to enact sensible regulations designed to promote gun safety and protect against gun violence that are consistent with historical tradition. The coalition explains that states have long exercised their power to protect the health, safety and welfare of their residents by enacting safety measures to minimize gun violence. 

“Protecting our communities, particularly our youth, from gun violence, is among my top priorities as Attorney General,” Raoul said. “I will continue to defend states’ ability to craft regulations to ensure dangerous weapons do not fall into the hands of those who will not use them responsibly.” 

Raoul and the attorneys general explain that California’s age-based regulation is consistent with measures taken by other states and upheld by other courts across the country. Although regulations differ based on each state’s needs, virtually every state and the District of Columbia have imposed some age-based restrictions on the sale or use of firearms, and at least 18 states and the District of Columbia have enacted a minimum age requirement of 21 for the sale of certain categories of firearms. 

The brief is the most recent step in Attorney General Raoul’s work to address gun violence throughout Illinois and across the nation. The Attorney General’s office created a state-of-the-art crime-gun tracing database for Illinois law enforcement called Crime Gun Connect. Raoul’s office also collaborates with local law enforcement to combat gun trafficking and has used the office’s jurisdiction to prosecute multi-county gun trafficking offenses. Additionally, the Attorney General’s office works with law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to increase awareness of Illinois’ red flag law and to address gaps in Illinois’ firearms licensing system. The office also prosecutes individuals who lie on FOID card applications. 

Attorney General Raoul has persistently advocated at the federal and state levels to strengthen regulation of 3D-printed guns and ghost guns. Illinois law now prohibits ghost guns, but the office continues to fight in federal court to help defend a recent rule closing the federal loophole. Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s office also defends cases pending in courts across the state challenging Illinois’ regulations of firearms. Nationally, Attorney General Raoul successfully filed and resolved a lawsuit to get the federal firearm license of an unscrupulous arms manufacturer revoked. 

In addition to supporting law enforcement efforts to keep communities safe from gun violence, the Attorney General’s office supports victims’ service providers around Illinois that offer trauma-informed services for crime victims and their families. Raoul’s Violence Prevention and Crime Victim Services Division administers a host of programs and services to assist survivors of violent crime. More information is available on the Attorney General’s website. 

Joining Raoul in filing the amicus brief are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.