Hey everyone,

When looking into the topic of private handgun purchases over 18 but under 21, i’ve been told (on the VaGuns reddit) that it is allowed due to Elhert v. Settle. Here is a link to the court document: https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/2020/Elhert-v-Settle-opinion-letter.pdf

If someone who knows the law well could please verify this for be it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Late reply...

You can gift a handgun to anyone over 18 in VA. But you can not sell (either private or dealer) a handgun to someone 18-20...yet.

Beware gun store legal advice...

What's that supposed to mean?

At this time, Virginia residents aged 18-20 may purchase handguns (but only handguns, not long guns) in private sales directly from other Virginia residents, and Virginia residents of any age may sell handguns to such persons aged 18-20 years, in private sales - without going through a FFL or a VSP gun show background check.

The Lynchburg Circuit Court entered a temporary injunction back in July of 2020 blocking enforcement of the law with respect to 18-20-year-old handgun buyers, and has extended it several times. This injunction is still in effect now. We are waiting for a final decision on the whole case, involving the entire "universal background check" law, which could come at any time.

The reason for this is that FFLs, under federal law, are not allowed to process transfers of handguns to persons under 21. So it's literally impossible to do a transfer of a handgun to someone under 21 through a dealer, as required by the state "universal background check" statute enacted in 2020. But 18-20-year-olds are allowed to own handguns, and most courts have said they are "adults" and part of "the people" who have an enumerated right to keep and bear arms.

Source: Me. I'm one of the main lawyers in the case. You might see a resemblance between my username and the person to whom the letter opinion, linked by the OP, was addressed.

Thank you for explaining this in more detail for those interested. And for those who doubt correct information simply because it comes from a Dealer. 🤷‍♂️

We are patiently waiting for the laws to catch up with these rulings so that we can actually do transfers for 18-20 years olds.




Keep up the good fight for us!!!