BELLEVUE, WA – Feb. 14, 2024 – The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging a Massachusetts statute which bans young adults in the 18-to-20 age group from acquiring, possessing, or carrying any semiautomatic firearm of any type or any handgun. The case is known as Escher v. Noble.
Joining SAF are the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners Action League, Commonwealth Second Amendment, Firearms Policy Coalition and a private citizen, Mack Escher, for whom the case is named. They are represented by attorneys Jason Guida with a law office in Saugus, Mass., and David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson and William V. Bergstrom at Cooper & Kirk in Washington, DC. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Named as defendants are Col. Geoffrey Noble, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, and Heath J. Eldredge, chief of police in Brewster, Mass., in their official capacities.
Plaintiffs are challenging provisions of Massachusetts law enacted with passage of H.B. 4885, signed in July 2024 by Gov. Maura Healey.
“Massachusetts’s law barring 18-20-year-olds from being able to acquire, possess, and carry commonly possessed firearms fails to comport with the Constitution’s command,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “These adult individuals are entitled to the full scope of the Second Amendment’s protections, yet the State has opted to affirmatively treat them as if they have less rights. An honest look at our nation’s history and tradition will only yield one result, that is, this law is blatantly unconstitutional.”
“Federal law allows for legal action against states that deprive individuals of federal constitutional rights under color of state law,” explained SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “State legislatures that adopt such restrictive laws invariably mask their motives by claiming they are ‘gun safety’ measures, but this isn’t about guns, it’s about rights. It’s time for anti-gun officials in Massachusetts and elsewhere to understand that.”